New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland

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First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland

Abstract

The alien spider species Pandava laminata (Thorell, 1878) (Titanoecidae) is reported from the Nordic Region for the first time, based on a single female specimen collected in an apartment in Turku, Southwest Finland. Widely distributed in its potentially native range from East Africa through China to New Guinea and Polynesia, this species has previously been introduced to central, western and northwestern Europe through the import of ornamental plants. The specimen is illustrated with photographs, and a synopsis of obligatory synanthropic, alien, and stowaway spider species reported from Finland is provided. Additionally, previous Finnish records of introduced black widow spiders identified as Latrodectus sp. and L. mactans (Fabricius, 1775) are reattributed here to L. hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 (Theridiidae) based on the geographical origin of the vector.

Zamani, A. & Koponen, S. (2025). First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 69: 5-9. doi:10.30963/aramit6903