Seasonal Variation in Whole-Body Elemental Concentrations and Excreta Production of a Riparian Orb-Weaving Spider (Larinioides cornutus)

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  Seasonal Variation in Whole-Body Elemental Concentrations and Excreta Production of a Riparian Orb-Weaving Spider (Larinioides cornutus) ABSTRACT Predators influence nutrient cycling by assimilating elements from their prey and returning nutrients to ecosystems via excretion and discarded prey remains. However, seasonal variation in the contribution of predators to nutrient cycling remains poorly understood, particularly for terrestrial arthropod predators such as spiders. We examined temporal variation in whole-body elemental concentrations, excreta C and N concentrations, and cumulative excreta output in a riparian orb-weaving spider ( Larinioides cornutus ) across the growing season of 2024. Adult females were collected across seven sampling periods spanning mid-June to early October, and whole-body concentrations of macronutrients (carbon [C], nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P]) and multiple trace elements were quantified. Whole-body N and P concentrations, and several trace elemen...

New insights on male palpal bulb morphology in Cymbiapophysa Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020, with four new species from Ecuador (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

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New insights on male palpal bulb morphology in Cymbiapophysa Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020, with four new species from Ecuador (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Abstract
Four new species of Cymbiapophysa Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 from northwestern Ecuador are described based on unique combinations of male palpal bulb and female spermathecae morphology: C. ashily sp. nov., C. matildeae sp. nov., C. otongachi sp. nov., and C. yumbos sp. nov. An updated diagnosis, key to species, and comparative plate of the male palpal bulb of previously known species, with relabelling of some keels as necessary , and evidence of a subapical keel in Cymbiapophysa species, are presented. Additionally, we provide further commentaries about cymbial morphology and male palpal bulb structures, and two possible hypotheses related to the origin of accessory keels.

Peñaherrera-R, Pedro & Sherwood, Danniella. (2024). New insights on male palpal bulb morphology in Cymbiapophysa Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020, with four new species from Ecuador (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology. 19. 1003-1017.

Many thanks to Danni Sherwood for providing me the paper and link via ResearchGate