What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae)

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  What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae) Abstract We designate a neotype for the Eurasian spider species Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757, thereby fixing the objective application of the species name, the genus name Araneus Clerck 1757, the family name Araneidae Clerck 1757, and the superfamily name Araneoidea Clerck 1757. By etymology and arachnological tradition, it also unofficially fixes the application of the ordinal name Araneae Clerck 1757 and thus answers the uncontroversial question, “What’s a spider?” A. angulatus also happens to be historically the first animal species ever described because Clerck (1757) has priority over Linnaeus (1758). Neotype designation is justified for three reasons: the syntypes of A. angulatus are lost; “ A. angulatus ” contains significant COI sequence divergence, potentially representing intraspecific variation, misidentifications, or as many...

Biodiversity and Distribution of Scorpions and Solifuges (Arachnida, Scorpiones, Solifugae) in Eastern Transcaucasia

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Biodiversity and Distribution of Scorpions and Solifuges (Arachnida, Scorpiones, Solifugae) in Eastern Transcaucasia

Abstract—

The data on the taxonomy and distribution of scorpions and solifuges with the aim of evaluating the current state of their fauna in eastern Transcaucasia are reported. The taxonomic list of species was compiled using the materials obtained from the available literature sources, the data of faunistic studies, and the results of studying the collection of the Azerbaijan Institute of Zoology, Baku, and the author’s own collections. Updated information on the taxonomy and distribution of scorpions and solifuges in eastern Transcaucasia is presented, with two new species of scorpions and three species of solifuges having been identified. To summarize, according to the 2022 data, the Scorpiones order in the studied region is represented by five species in three genera in a single family, while the Solifugae order, by 14 species in seven genera in five families. The maps showing the localities in eastern Transcaucasia are presented for 15 species.

Novruzov, N.E. Biodiversity and Distribution of Scorpions and Solifuges (Arachnida, Scorpiones, Solifugae) in Eastern Transcaucasia. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 50, 2160–2171 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359023090261