A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania

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  A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania Abstract A new species of the genus Cataleptoneta Denis, 1955, Cataleptoneta sulfur sp. nov ., is described from caves in the Vromoner Canyon (Sarandaporo River Valley), on the Greek–Albanian border (northwestern Greece and southern Albania), on the basis of both sexes. Drawings, scanning electron micrographs, and digital images of diagnostic features are presented. Analysis of COI mitochondrial barcode sequences confirmed the species distinction from all the other sequences. Within the species two separate lineages, unique to each cave were found. The genus Cataleptoneta is not monophyletic as now circumscribed and confirmed also by the phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. Urák I, Ştefan A, Motoc RM, Brad T, Zsigmond A-R, Sarbu SM, Szűts T (2026) A new Cataleptoneta species (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from sulfidic caves in Greece and Albania. ZooKeys 1294: 89-107. https://doi.org/...

Two further cases of morphological anomaly in theraphosid spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

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Two further cases of morphological anomaly in theraphosid spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Abstract

Two further cases of morphological anomaly in theraphosid spiders (Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869) are reported. A subadult female of Aphonopelma seemanni (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) presents an anomalous outgrowth between coxae IV and the margin of the sternum. An adult male of Phormictopus sp. has a small, regenerated, right-hand palp, with a heavily deformed palpal bulb.

Sherwood, Danniella & Hörweg, Christoph. (2024). Two further cases of morphological anomaly in theraphosid spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae). 39. 26-28. Journal of the Belgian Arachnological Society Volume 39 (1) 2024