23, see text Trichopelma is a genus of South American and Caribbean tarantulas first described by Eugène Simon in 1888.

[2] A major review of mygalomorph spiders by Robert J. Raven in 1985 led to the genus being greatly enlarged, merging it with other genera Hapalopinus, Leptofischelia, Merothele, Obaerarius and Stothis.

Raven placed this expanded genus in the family Barychelidae.

In 2014 José P. L. Guadanucci carried out a morphological phylogenetic analysis of some mygalomorph genera, including Trichopelma.

The study supported Raven's hypothesis, and the genus was moved to Theraphosidae as a member of a re-limited subfamily Ischnocolinae sensu stricto.