Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy

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  Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy The orb-weaver genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 has historically served as a heterogeneous assemblage for numerous araneid spiders lacking clear generic placement, and several Asian species formerly assigned to Araneus have subsequently been transferred to more narrowly defined genera. One species that still needs further investigation on its true identity is Araneus nox (Simon, 1877), originally described as Epeira nox Simon, 1877 from Basilan Island, Philippines, and later transferred to Araneus by Simon (1905). In the same year as the description of Epeira nox, Thorell (1877) described Epeira pilula from the Moluccas (Indonesia), which was subsequently synonymised under Epeira nox by Simon (1880). Despite its broad Oriental distribution, the taxonomic identity and generic placement of A. nox have remained insuff...

Riding on ants: A new report of this interesting behavior in Attacobius spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae)

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Riding on ants: A new report of this interesting behavior in Attacobius spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae)

Abstract

Ants are among the most ecologically dominant animals in several terrestrial ecosystems. Some myrmecophile species use ants to transport themselves, a behavior known as phoresy or phoresis. Although phoresis is commonly reported in arachnids such as pseudoscorpions or acari, it is very unusual among spiders. Phoresis on ants has only been reported in one genus of spiders, the sac-spider Attacobius Mello-Leitão, 1925 and for only two Brazilian species. In this report, we describe this amazing behavior in Attacobius nigripes (Mello-Leitão, 1942) for the first time in association with a new host, the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex lobicornis Emery, 1888. This record extends the geographic distribution of this spider species to the southwest of Argentina, from the Chaco into the Monte Desert region. We briefly describe the riding behavior of spiders and discuss the myrmecophile association between this species and A. lobicornis. More studies are needed to understand the evolutionary context of this association.

G. Pompozzi, F. Fernández Campón "Riding on ants: A new report of this interesting behavior in Attacobius spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae)," The Journal of Arachnology, 52(2), 139-142, (27 August 2024)