In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions

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  Photo Credit: Le Parisien In Memoriam: Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) — A Life Devoted to the Study of Scorpions The passing of Gérard Dupré (1947–2026) is a deeply felt loss for those of us who share an interest in the study of scorpions and other arachnids. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to documenting and preserving arachnological knowledge, contributing valuable work on scorpion taxonomy, distribution, and bibliography. His careful attention to the literature helped bring clarity and organization to a field whose history spans centuries and many languages. Gérard was also closely associated with the journal Arachnides , which became an important outlet for sharing research, faunistic records, and historical notes within the arachnological community. Through this work, he helped ensure that observations and studies—large and small—were preserved and made accessible to others with similar scientific interests. Beyond his scholarly contributions, Gérard was a humble and gen...

Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae)

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Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae)

Abstract

Micropholcus Deeleman-Reinhold & Prinsen, 1987 is one of only two Pholcidae genera known to occur both in the Old and New Worlds. However, there are major morphological and ecological differences among geographically separate groups of species, and it was mainly molecular data that have resulted in our current view of uniting all these species into a single genus. In the Old World, only four species have previously been described. Here, current knowledge about Old World Micropholcus is reviewed, redescribing three of the four previously known species, and describing twelve new species, originating from Saudi Arabia (M. dhahran Huber, sp. nov., M. harajah Huber, sp. nov., M. alfara Huber, sp. nov., M. abha Huber, sp. nov., M. tanomah Huber, sp. nov., M. bashayer Huber, sp. nov., M. maysaan Huber, sp. nov.), Oman (M. darbat Huber, sp. nov., M. shaat Huber, sp. nov.), Morocco (M. ghar Huber, sp. nov., M. khenifra Huber, Lecigne & Lips, sp. nov.), and the Philippines (M. bukidnon Huber, sp. nov.). We provide an exploratory species delimitation analysis based on CO1 barcodes, extensive SEM data, and first records of Acroceridae (Diptera) larvae in Pholcidae, extracted from book lungs.

Huber BA, Meng G (2024) Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae). ZooKeys 1213: 95-182. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1213.133178