Olfactory learning in two Amblypygi species Paraphrynus laevifrons and Phrynus pseudoparvulus

  Olfactory learning in two Amblypygi species Paraphrynus laevifrons and Phrynus pseudoparvulus Abstract A wide diversity of arthropod taxa have demonstrated the capacity for learning, but most of our current understanding comes from only a select subset of this highly diverse clade, with most studies focusing on various insect groups. Amblypygids (Order Amblypygi, Class Arachnida), however, are emerging as a model group for studying sensory integration and the neural substrates associated with learning and memory, especially as it relates to navigation. These nocturnal creatures possess specialized sensory appendages and one of the largest and most complex mushroom bodies - the part of the arthropod brain associated with learning and memory - of any arthropod. Prior field studies on multiple species demonstrate sophisticated homing abilities while laboratory-based behavioral assays in  Phrynus marginemaculatus  confirm olfactory-based learning associated with a refuge. I...

Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

 


Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Five new species of the ant-eating spider genus Mallinella from the natural forests of Sri Lanka are described and illustrated: Mallinella dhanahami sp. nov. (male, female), M. milkyway sp. nov. (male, female), M. moncheri sp. nov. (male, female), M. oreo sp. nov. (male, female), and M. truffles sp. nov. (male, female). A key to all the known Mallinella species from Sri Lanka is provided, and their current distribution in Sri Lanka is mapped.

Dayananda, N. & Benjamin, S. P. (2025). Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 5570(1): 100-118. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5570.1.4