A new species and a new record of Zoicinae Lehtinen & Hippa, 1979 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Sumatra Island, with notes on miniaturization in wolf spiders

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  A new species and a new record of Zoicinae Lehtinen & Hippa, 1979 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Sumatra Island, with notes on miniaturization in wolf spiders Abstract A new species of wolf spider, Zoica veloxilla sp. nov., from Sumatra (Indonesia) is described based on both sexes. Lysania pygmaea Thorell, 1890 is recorded from Sumatra for the first time, and its male is illustrated and redescribed. A distribution map for Zoica and Lysania is provided. The problem of miniaturization in wolf spiders is briefly discussed. Based on an analysis of the literature, 32 minute species of wolf spiders in four subfamilies and eleven genera have been reported. The smallest wolf spider known worldwide seems to be Zoica minuta (McKay, 1979) from Australia. Omelko, M.M. & Fomichev, A.A. (2026) A new species and a new record of Zoicinae Lehtinen & Hippa, 1979 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Sumatra Island, with notes on miniaturization in wolf spiders. Zootaxa, 5869 (2), 339–350. https://doi.o...

Integrative taxonomy of the Iberian Zodarion species of the rubidum and styliferum groups (Araneae: Zodariidae)

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Integrative taxonomy of the Iberian Zodarion species of the rubidum and styliferum groups (Araneae: Zodariidae)

Abstract

Zodarion, one of the most diverse zodariid spider genera, has recently garnered significant interest due to its peculiar adaptations for stringent ant-eating specialization. However, species identification within this genus remains challenging, as many Zodarion species are still insufficiently documented. This study revisits the taxonomy of Iberian species within the rubidum and styliferum groups, which together comprise 25 of the 171 species in the genus. Detailed morphological documentation is provided, including photographs and SEM images of key taxonomic characters, presented here for the first time. Molecular characterizations were also conducted to facilitate future species identification and to investigate patterns of mitochondrial variation within and between species. Notably, Z. extraneum has been reinstated as a distinct species. The male of Z. extraneum and the female of Z. alentejanum are described for the first time, while the female of Z. viduum is redescribed. Additionally, the species Z. alentejanum, Z. bosmansi, Z. guadianense and Z. lusitanicum have been assigned to the styliferum group. Three new synonyms are proposed: Z. brevicephalus with Z. styliferum, Z. duriense with Z. bacelarae, and Z. parastyliferum with Z. extraneum. Pairwise interspecific divergences between individual sequences generally exceeded intraspecific variation, and the mitochondrial gene tree recovered all but one species as monophyletic groups, underscoring the utility of molecular barcoding for identifying Zodarion species. However, interspecific distances between consensus sequences often blurred species boundaries. Our integrative taxonomic study provides tools for improved identification of Zodarion species, facilitating further research into their biology.

Shafaie, S., Pekár, S. & Ortiz, D. (2025) Integrative taxonomy of the Iberian Zodarion species of the rubidum and styliferum groups (Araneae: Zodariidae). Zootaxa, 5624 (1), 1–69. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5624.1.1