A new species of the mygalomorph spider genus Euagrus Ausserer (Araneae: Euagridae) from central Mexico and new records of E. gus Coyle from Tlaxcala

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  A new species of the mygalomorph spider genus Euagrus Ausserer (Araneae: Euagridae) from central Mexico and new records of E. gus Coyle from Tlaxcala Abstract  A new species of the spider genus Euagrus Ausserer, 1875 from temperate pine-oak forests in the states of Tlaxcala and Hidalgo, Mexico is described: E. pulque sp. nov. The description of the new species is based on male and female adult specimens. Additionally, Euagrus gus Coyle, 1988 is recorded for the very first time in the state of Tlaxcala. These species have sympatric distributions in La Malinche National Park, Tlaxcala. With this description, the diversity of the genus increases to 23 species, with Mexico harboring the highest diversity with 17 described species.  Valdez-Mondragón, A., Salinas-Velasco, H. V. & Bueno-Villegas, J. (2026). A new species of the mygalomorph spider genus Euagrus Ausserer (Araneae: Euagridae) from central Mexico and new records of E. gus Coyle from Tlaxcala. Zootaxa 5810 (...

Are female Pardosa spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) from a Mexican coffee crop more efficient than males in capturing a standard prey of various sizes?

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Are female Pardosa spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) from a Mexican coffee crop more efficient than males in capturing a standard prey of various sizes?

Abstract

Wolf spiders (Lycosidae) are considered one of the main groups of predators in economically relevant crops. Despite their importance, most studies have focused on Nearctic species and have aimed to determining diet composition and analyzing predation primarily using female spiders as models. Although it is known that male spiders also hunt and consume prey effectively, the type and quantity of prey consumed by males may, due to sexual dimorphism, complement that of females. There is an evident lack of information regarding to males which limits their knowledge as potential biological control agents. The study aimed to experimentally assess prey acceptance, immobilization time, and the length of predatory behavior in both female and male Pardosa spiders when exposed to a standard prey (Acheta domesticus) of different sizes. Our findings revealed no significant differences between females and males in terms of prey acceptance, immobilization time, or length of predatory behavior. The increase in relative prey size was related to a decrease in prey acceptance by the spiders. Furthermore, prey immobilization time and length of predatory behavioral sequences increased in relation to increasing prey size. Our findings support the idea that both female and male Pardosa spiders are voracious predators with similar trophic attributes. Size emerges as a critical factor in prey selection by these generalist predators. Understanding the preferred prey size range can be useful for selecting beneficial controllers in various crops.

Mauricio Alejandro Olvera Pale, Mauricio Alejandro Olvera Pale, Luis Fernando García Hernández et al. Are female Pardosa spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) from a Mexican coffee crop more efficient than males in capturing a standard prey of various sizes?, 22 August 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4682875/v1]