The faunistic diversity of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Waterberg District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa

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  The faunistic diversity of the spiders ( Arachnida , Araneae ) of the Waterberg District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa Abstract The South African National Survey of Arachnida ( SANSA ) has conducted surveys in the Waterberg District of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, over more than 40 years. The first annotated checklist for the Waterberg District is provided here, along with the global distributions, endemicity and conservation assessments for each species, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) criteria. A total of 54 families, 292 genera and 600 species were recorded. The study highlights species of special conservation concern, as well as the nine species endemic to the Waterberg District. Salticidae (95 species), followed by Thomisidae (80 species), Araneidae (53 species) and Gnaphosidae (48 species), are the most species-rich families. In contrast, single species represent 14 families. Most species (546; 91.2%) are widely distr...

A new specimen of whip scorpion (Arachnida; Thelyphonida) from the Crato Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

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A new specimen of whip scorpion (Arachnida; Thelyphonida) from the Crato Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

Abstract

Fossil whip scorpions (Thelyphonida) are extremely rare in the Crato Formation strata, Araripe Basin, Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of Brazil. Only four specimens of whip scorpions have been described in this unit so far. All specimens have been assigned to the genus Mesoproctus Dunlop and only one species has been formally proposed, M. rowlandi Dunlop. For Mesozoic times, apart from Crato Formation, whip scorpions are only documented by two species in the amber deposits of the Hukawng Valley, northern Myanmar. In this scenario, each new discovery of Mesozoic whip scorpion is highly important. In addition, we present the first documented example of book lungs from a fossil whip scorpion. Here, we present and illustrate a new specimen of whip scorpion found in the Crato strata. 

Alberto, G. de M., Bezerra, F. I., Giupponi, A. P. de L., & Mendes, M. (2023). A new specimen of whip scorpion (Arachnida; Thelyphonida) from the Crato Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Revista Brasileira De Paleontologia, 26(3), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2023.3.01