Qualitative and Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Venoms from Mexican Rattlesnakes

Posted by
  Qualitative and Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Venoms from Mexican Rattlesnakes Abstract Despite the vast biodiversity of Mexican vipers, venom of endemic species has been barely studied. Here we analyzed the venom composition of three endemic species of rattlesnakes: Crotalus aquilus , C. triseriatus , and C. ravus . We used quantitative chromato-mass-spectrometry and compared venoms with C. molossus , a species commonly found in North America, in a comparative and phylogenetic framework. In total, we identified 165 proteins grouped in 19 main protein families, consistent with previous reports for viperid venoms. In C. aquilus and C. triseriatus , the most predominant protein-family type was Serine Proteases, and in C. triseriatus and C. molossus it was Snake Venom Metalloproteases. The Label-free quantification revealed a high proportion of Snake Venom Metalloproteases in C. aquilus , C. triseriatus , and C. molossus , reaching 28–47% of the total venom. In contrast, in ...

Attack on Titan: a record of predation on the Chinese reddish mantis Hierodula chinensis (Mantodea, Mantidae) by the orb-web weaving spider Gibbaranea abscissa (Araneae, Araneidae)

Posted by

 


Attack on Titan: a record of predation on the Chinese reddish mantis Hierodula chinensis (Mantodea, Mantidae) by the orb-web weaving spider Gibbaranea abscissa (Araneae, Araneidae)

Abstract

Prey–predator interaction is a phenomenon important to our understanding of community dynamics. Mantises and web-weaving spiders are predators that belong to the same guild, and they can be each other’s predator and prey. However, their relationship is generally asymmetrical, with spiders often being the prey of the mantises. Here, we report a rare opposite case in which an adult female mantis, Hierodula chinensis Werner, 1929, was preyed upon by the orb-web weaving spider Gibbaranea abscissa (Karsch, 1879), without using a web, in a late autumn field in Japan. We suggest that differences in cold tolerance allowed the small spider to hunt a mantis prey that was approximately eight times its size.

Yamasaki K, Baba YG (2025) Attack on Titan: a record of predation on the Chinese reddish mantis Hierodula chinensis (Mantodea, Mantidae) by the orb-web weaving spider Gibbaranea abscissa (Araneae, Araneidae). Journal of Orthoptera Research 34(1): 131-134. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.122095