New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

First Records of Spiders in the Genus Micrathena (Araneae: Araneidae) from The Bahamas

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First Records of Spiders in the Genus Micrathena (Araneae: Araneidae) from The Bahamas

Abstract


Spiders are an important but poorly understood group of arachnids in West Indian ecosystems. This is especially true for The Bahamas. In 2016 and in 2023, while visiting old growth forests on the islands of Andros and Great Abaco, I found two species of spiny orbweavers in the genus Micrathena. Although the presence of the genus is reported on the islands of the Greater Antilles, this represents the first record of Micrathena in The Bahamas, and adds to the spider diversity of the country.

Scott Johnson "First Records of Spiders in the Genus Micrathena (Araneae: Araneidae) from The Bahamas," Caribbean Journal of Science, 54(1), 107-108, (15 May 2024)