Passive transponder implantation in Theraphosidae: A tool for traceability and conservation

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  Passive transponder implantation in Theraphosidae: A tool for traceability and conservation Abstract Illegal wildlife trade represents a major global threat to biodiversity, with tarantulas among the most heavily trafficked invertebrate groups due to increasing demand in the international pet market, highlighting the urgent need for effective regulatory frameworks and reliable specimen-level traceability systems to distinguish legally bred individuals from illegally sourced ones. Individual identification is essential to support legal trade, strengthen enforcement mechanisms and reduce illegal trafficking; therefore, this study evaluated the feasibility and safety of passive integrated transponder microchip (PIT TAG) implantation for individual identification in multiple tarantula species under controlled laboratory conditions. Post-implantation parameters assessed included anaesthesia recovery time, feeding behaviour, ecdysis frequency, PIT TAG retention across successive moults...

Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes

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Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes

Abstract 

The enigmatic monotypic genus Timesius Simon, 1879, hitherto assigned to Stygnidae Simon, 1879, is redescribed and its phylogenetic position inferred upon morphological and molecular evidence, resulting in its reallocation to the family Nomoclastidae Roewer, 1943. The type material of Timesius vesicularis (Gervais, 1844), long presumed lost, was rediscovered, and is hereby redescribed and illustrated. Also, a new species, Timesius paramuno sp. nov., is described based on specimens collected in the Páramo ecosystem in the Central Cordillera, Colombia. Timesius vesicularis can be readily distinguished by having two long spines on area III of the dorsal scutum (two short tubercles in T. paramuno sp. nov.) and small whitish-yellow granules on the ocularium and dorsal scutum (vestigial whitish-yellow granules in T. paramuno). 

Damron, Brittany & Moreno-González, Jairo A. & pinto da rocha, Ricardo. (2025). Systematic placement of the enigmatic genus Timesius Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Laniatores, Nomoclastidae), with description of a new species from the Colombian Andes. 
Zootaxa. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: F6B8CFA9-BFD7-4DCF-B198-2FC3378FB637