Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider

Posted by
  Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider ABSTRACT Sex differences in behavior and functional traits are often attributed to differences in mating effort intensity, but the role of sex-specific parental demands remains poorly understood. Using the jumping spider Toxeus maxillosus —where males engage in mate searching and courtship without providing parental care, while females provide extended maternal care from egg attendance to offspring maturity (around 3 months)—we conducted an exploratory investigation into whether these distinct selective pressures led to divergence in spatial behaviors and nest architecture. Results revealed that males and females showed equivalent accuracy, latency, and learning-related performance in both a route-planning test under water stress and a color-pattern associative memory task. In contrast, during nest-construction assays, females built complex, multi-entrance structures that closely matched the container'...

First case of sexual cannibalism in Leiurus abdullahbayrami Yağmur, Koç & Kunt, 2009 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Lebanon

Posted by

 


First case of sexual cannibalism in Leiurus abdullahbayrami Yağmur, Koç & Kunt, 2009 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Lebanon

Abstract


This study presents the first report of sexual cannibalism in the medically significant scorpion Leiurus abdullahbayrami Yağmur, Koç & Kunt, 2009, that was recorded during a herpetological field trip to the semi-desert area in northern Lebanon. It broadens the understanding of sexual cannibalism in scorpions and adds a new prey item to the dietary spectrum of the scorpion.