A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation?

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  A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation? Abstract Pseudoscorpions are well known for phoretic associations with arthropods, but interactions with amphibians are rarely documented. Here we report a pseudoscorpion attached to the left palpebral region of an adult male Italian cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus , observed during a visual survey in a karst cave in Tuscany, Italy. The pseudoscorpion, assigned on the basis of visible morphology and locality to Chthonius cf. elongatus , was grasping a minute cutaneous fold on the lower margin of the left upper eyelid with one chela while the salamander moved slowly over the rock surface. No handling was performed and the initial contact between the two animals was not observed. The event therefore cannot be interpreted unambiguously, but may represent opportunistic phoresy or defensive attachment following a failed predation attempt. To our knowledge, this is the first published observation of a ...

The genome sequence of the furrow orbweaver, Larinioides cornutus (Clerck, 1757)

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The genome sequence of the furrow orbweaver, Larinioides cornutus (Clerck, 1757)

Abstract

We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of Larinioides cornutus (furrow orbweaver; Arthropoda; Arachnida; Araneae; Araneidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 2,304.58 megabases and 2,295.32 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (98.49%) is scaffolded into 13 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X1 and X2 sex chromosomes. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 14.6 kilobases.

Telfer MG, Crowley LM, Wilding CS et al. The genome sequence of the furrow orbweaver, Larinioides cornutus (Clerck, 1757) [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. Wellcome Open Res 2025, 10:267 (https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.24288.1)