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

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  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'...

One more remarkable new genus and species of fossil scorpion from Burmese Cretaceous amber associated to the extant family Buthidae (Scorpiones: Buthoidea)

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One more remarkable new genus and species of fossil scorpion from Burmese Cretaceous amber associated to the extant family Buthidae (Scorpiones: Buthoidea)

Abstract

The study of a new scorpion specimen from Cretaceous Burmite leads to the descriptions of a new genus and species which once again can be associated to the buthoid lineage and to the family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837. The new species shows quite distinct characters, particularly a telson with a rounded-shape, absence of a sub-aculear tooth and the presence of a pseudo annular ring, which is uncommon among buthids in general. Several of its features can associate the new genus to some extant genera such as Butheolus Simon, 1882 and Hottentotta Birula, 1908. The discovery of this new genus and species confirms, once again, the existence of buthid elements within the Burmite fauna.

Lourenço W. R. & Velten J., 2025. – Un nouveau genre et une nouvelle espèce remarquable de scorpion fossile de l’ambre Crétacé de Birmanie associés à la famille actuelle des Buthidae (Scorpiones : Buthoidea). Faunitaxys, 13(35): 1 – 6.