Envenomization with Snake Versus Scorpion Venom: Postmortem Repercussions on the Successional Dynamics of Carcass-Attracted Flies in a Forensic Context

Posted by
  Envenomization with Snake Versus Scorpion Venom: Postmortem Repercussions on the Successional Dynamics of Carcass-Attracted Flies in a Forensic Context Abstract Background: Animal venoms may alter postmortem carcass conditions and thereby influence carrion-associated insects. However, it remains unclear whether lethal envenomization affects adult Diptera as a broad assemblage-level response or as taxon-specific changes during decomposition. Methods: Fifteen rabbits were assigned to control, snake-envenomized, or scorpion-envenomized treatments (with five carcasses each). Carcasses were exposed under semi-natural conditions, until complete dryness, over 11 days postmortem. Adult flies were collected daily for analyzing abundance at total, family, and selected species levels, using negative GLMM, with carcass identity as a random effect and postmortem day as a nonlinear predictor. Results: A total of 5497 adult flies representing 13 species in seven families was recorded. Total fly...

On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador

Posted by

 


On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador

Cheiracanthiidae Wagner, 1887 is a family composed of 14 genera, being Eutichurus Simon, 1897 the only genus currently known to occur in Ecuador. Although the confusing relocations within families that this group faced (e.g. Clubionidae), the taxonomy of this genus has recently been revised and proven to have great diversity across the neotropical region from Costa Rica to Argentina (Lehtinen 1967; Ramirez et al. 2014; Murphy & Roberts 2015; Bonaldo 1994; Bonaldo et al. 2018). According to the World Spider Catalog (2024), currently, Eutichurus has 31 valid species but is expected that two species described from India (Eutichurus chingliputensis Majumder & Tikader, 1991 and E. tezpurensis Biswas, 1991) and one from Colombia (E. keyserlingi Simon, 1897) could be misplaced within the genus (Bonaldo et al. 2018).

A multidisciplinary expedition conducted by the Laboratory of Terrestrial Zoology of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) was carried out at several localities from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Province of Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador. This expedition resulted in the discovery of a great number of new potential spider species from this particular Amazonian mountain system; being Eutichurus tendetza sp. nov. the first described species from this expedition and the first Cheiracanthiidae species to be described from an Ecuadorian Tepuy. Few publications related to the spider diversity of the Cordillera del Cóndor have been made (i.e. Dupérré & Tapia, 2020; Dupèrrè et al. 2023). We hope that the present paper will be the first of a series of publications showing the great potential of this region as a hotspot of spider diversity.

Description format of the new species follows Bonaldo et al. (2018) with modifications. Comparative information from other Eutichurus species was based on Bonaldo (1994) and Bonaldo et al. (2018). The specimen is preserved in a vial with 75% ethanol and deposited at Museo de Zoología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (ZSFQ, Curator: Margarita M. López-García). For general information on microscopy, photographs, and female genitalia treatment see Peñaherrera-R. et al. (2023). Abbreviations are giving in the legends of the plates.


Peñaherrera-R., P., Guerrero-Campoverde, A., Guerrero-Molina, T. & Cisneros-Heredia, D. F. (2024b). On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador. Zootaxa 5477(2): 246-250. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5477.2.8