Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

New records and defensive behaviour of a rarely seen tarantula, Trichopelma coenobita (Simon, 1889) on Trinidad, West Indies

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New records and defensive behaviour of a rarely seen tarantula, Trichopelma coenobita (Simon, 1889) on Trinidad, West Indies

The subfamily Trichopelmatinae of the family Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869 (tarantulas) comprise 31 described species. They are known only from the New World, particularly the Caribbean, Central and South America (Mori and Bertani 2020). However information on the ecology and behaviour of this group is sparse.

Trichopelma coenobita was originally described as Stothis coenobita Simon 1889, based on a female specimen from Venezuela. Decades later, a male T. coenobita was described for the first time, thanks to a new observation of a male-female pair on Trinidad in February 1964. In this report, we present two additional observations of this tarantula species on Trinidad, expanding its known geographic distribution. These findings supplement the following earlier records of their presence on the island: January 1945 and February 1968, location 10°21’N, 61°13’W; 10-22 February 1964 -Arima Valley; and 14-26 July 1978 - Blanchisseuse (Mori and Bertani 2020). West (1984) misidentified a specimen of T. coenobita from the Textel Station, Blanchissuese Road, as Cyriocosmus elegans, which also occurs there (Sherwood et al. 2022).

Most striking is the number of distinctive physical features, most notably the abdominal pattern, that distinguish T. coenobita from other sympatric theraphosids. Although Mori and Bertani (2020) described their physical characteristics in detail, not much could be said about Trichopelma coenobita reproduction, natural behaviour, prey preference and hunting strategies or conservation status.