Posts

Photoreceptor physiology of two species of crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae)

  Photoreceptor physiology of two species of crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) Abstract Spiders are a diverse order of predatory arachnids with more than 53.000 described species, most of which have eight eyes. Many webless hunting spiders, most noticeably the jumping spiders (Salticidae) have been shown to have excellent eyes with high spatial resolution and colour vision. The family of crab spiders (Thomisidae) is also hypothesized to be visual hunters, employing a “sit and wait” or ambush hunting technique; however, little is currently known about their visual capacity. Here we use extracellular electrophysiology to examine the photoreceptor physiology of two crab spiders living in two different ecological niches.  Ozyptila praticola  (C.L. Koch, 1837) hunts on the ground in dim habitats whereas  Xysticus cristatus  (Clerck, 1757) hunts in the typical bright open grasslands. We test the hypotheses that (1) each species has special-purpose eyes, (2) that male...

The evolutionary history of chelicerate metallothioneins reveals de novo emergence and metal-binding specialization across the subphylum

Systematic study of the Ageniellini spider wasp genus Machaerothrix Haupt (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) from Japan and Southeast Asia

On a new genus of the fossorial wolf spiders from Middle Asia (Araneae, Lycosidae)

The Genetic Basis of Color Polymorphism in the Orb-Web Spider Gasteracantha cancriformis

Evidence of Xysticus ulmi (Hahn) (Araneae: Thomisidae) Predation on Adult Cassida viridis Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Interspecific and Intraspecific Variation in Venom Proteomics, Composition, and Antivenom Efficacy of Thai Cobras (Naja spp.): Highlighting the Distinct Profile of the Newly Identified Naja fuxi

New and noteworthy host records for some North American and Colombian spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

Identification and characterization of antimicrobial peptides derived from venom gland transcriptome of scorpion Superstitionia donensis

Herpetological misinformation and sensationalism: media framing on biological and ecological aspects of the golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis)

Integrative Approaches in Snake Venom-Induced Tissue and Organ Toxicity: Ethnomedicinal and Phytochemical Strategies as Complementary Antivenom Therapies

Testing cohesive selective paths and evaluating loss of evolutionary information while delimiting species of Brazilian wandering spiders

Spiders of the Orsiera Rocciavrè Natural Park and Foresto Ravine Natural Reserve (NW Italy): a faunistic synthesis with data from the “Biodiversity Monitoring Project”

New data on the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Anguilla, Lesser Antilles with description of seven new species

Snakebite knowledge among healthcare workers in Gabon: A health facility-based cross-sectional survey

On the genus Ananteris Thorell, 1891 in French Guiana, with description of a new species (Scorpiones: Ananteridae)

From folkloric origins to scientific systematics: the first detailed redescription of the type species of Lycosa Latreille, 1804 with insight into the genus (Araneae: Lycosidae)

In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions

Unusual Encounter: First Photographic Documentation of a Lynx Spider Oxyopes sp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) Preying on Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from India