Venomics of the six-eyed sand spider, Sicarius rugosus (Araneae: Sicariidae), from the neotropical dry forest of Costa Rica

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  Venomics of the six-eyed sand spider, Sicarius rugosus (Araneae: Sicariidae), from the neotropical dry forest of Costa Rica Abstract Background Sicarius rugosus , the only member of the genus that inhabits Central America, is phylogenetically related to South American  Sicarius  spiders. These originated from a common ancestor with sister African species. Like  Loxosceles ,  Sicarius  exhibits venom phospholipase D activity due to a group of toxins known collectively as SicTox. Methods A gel-assisted, bottom-up, proteomic analysis was performed to characterize the venom composition of  S. rugosus . Hyaluronidase activity was determined using zymography. Results We identified several SicTox sequences, all classified as β-clade paralogs and sharing unique peptides with proteins from  S. patagonicus ,  S. peruensis,  and other species. Enzymes such as metalloproteinases, including putative astacins, carboxypeptidases, and angiotensin-conv...

First record and new species of the hitherto American endemic genus Hibana Brescovit, 1991 from Ascension Island (Araneae: Anyphaenidae)

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First record and new species of the hitherto American endemic genus Hibana Brescovit, 1991 from Ascension Island (Araneae: Anyphaenidae)

Abstract
A new species of the genus Hibana Brescovit, 1991, previously known only from the Americas, is described from Ascension Island, based on both sexes: Hibana ascensionensis sp. nov. complemented with colour photographs of specimen habitus, male chelicera, and the copulatory organs of both sexes. Hitherto , the family Anyphaenidae Bertkau, 1878 had not been recorded from Ascension Island, nor any other mid-Atlantic island. The new species is related to, but distinct from, H. tenuis (L. Koch, 1866) and H. talmina Brescovit, 1991. The unusual indentation of male chelicerae in Hibana is documented and figured in detail for the first time. 

SHERWOOD, D., MARUSIK, Yu.M., SHARP, A. & WILKINS, V. (2024) First record and new species of the hitherto American endemic genus Hibana Brescovit, 1991 from Ascension Island (Araneae: Anyphaenidae) Arachnology 19(8): 1139–1142