Snakebite epidemiology in the State of Mexico, Mexico 2003-2024

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  Snakebite epidemiology in the State of Mexico, Mexico 2003-2024 Abstract In the State of Mexico, several venomous snakes have low median lethal doses, which therefore pose serious health risks. We analyzed the epidemiology of snakebites from 2003 to 2024 and examined their relationship with demographic, socioeconomic, and biological factors. Incidence rates and demographic characteristics were calculated, and Getis-Ord Gi* statistics were used to identify snakebite hotspots. We also applied Non-Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) to explore associations between hotspot categories and socioeconomic conditions. The potential distribution of 14 venomous snake species was modelled to estimate venomous snake diversity across municipalities. A total of 3,972 cases were reported, with an increasing trend over time. Most bites occurred in summer, affecting mainly males aged 25-44. Hotspot analysis identified 27 municipalities as hotspots, 50 as not significant and 48 as coldspots. So...

Alien spiders in a palm house with the first report of parthenogenetic Triaeris stenaspis (Araneae: Oonopidae) infected by Wolbachia from new supergroup X

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Alien spiders in a palm house with the first report of parthenogenetic Triaeris stenaspis (Araneae: Oonopidae) infected by Wolbachia from new supergroup X

Abstract

Palm houses in Europe serve as urban biodiversity hot spots for alien spiders. As a result of several years of research in the Poznań Palm House, we documented the occurrence of 14 spider species, 9 of which were alien to Europe: Coleosoma floridanum, Hasarius adansoni, Howaia mogera, Ostearius melanopygius, Parasteatoda tabulata, Parasteatoda tepidariorum, Scytodes fusca, Spermophora kerinci and Triaeris stenaspis. The most abundant species was C. floridanum (39.9%). Three spider species were recorded for the first time in Poland: C. floridanum, S. fusca and S. kerinci. We studied the occurrence of endosymbiotic Wolbachia and Cardinium in parthenogenetic T. stenaspis and recorded for the first time the occurrence of Wolbachia in this spider. The endosymbiont was characterized based on the sequences of six bacterial housekeeping genes: 16S rRNA, coxA, fbpA, ftsZ, gatB, and hcpA. 

Our phylogenetic reconstruction of Wolbachia supergroups revealed that the bacteria recovered from the spider formed distinct lineages in relation to all known supergroups. We assigned it to a novel supergroup X with unique sequences within the 16S rRNA and ftsZ genes. We discussed faunistic results in terms of long-term survival rates and the risk of invasion of alien species of spiders.

Szymkowiak, P., Konecka, E., Rutkowski, T. et al. Alien spiders in a palm house with the first report of parthenogenetic Triaeris stenaspis (Araneae: Oonopidae) infected by Wolbachia from new supergroup X. Sci Rep 15, 9512 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93540-1