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...

First Records of Four Species of Tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Chacachacare, Trinidad & Tobago

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First Records of Four Species of Tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Chacachacare, Trinidad & Tobago

Abstract

This note reports on four species of tarantula not previously reported from the island of Chacachacare, observed during February, July, and November 2023.

Muhammad,  S.M.,  2024. Nature Note - First Records of Four Species of Tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Chacachacare, Trinidad  & Tobago. Living World, Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club.

https://ttfnc.org/livingworld/index.php/lwj/article/view/muhammad2024