New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby

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  New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby I am pleased to share the publication of my latest paper, “Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby: Ethical Boundaries and Biological Consequences,” in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society , Volume 41, No. 1, September 2026. The paper addresses an issue that deserves serious consideration within the tarantula community: hybridisation and its potential long-term effects on the integrity of captive lineages. More Than a Breeding Decision The tarantula hobby has changed considerably over the past several decades. What was once a relatively small community has grown into an international network of keepers, breeders, vendors, researchers, and societies. Captive breeding has contributed enormously to that growth, improving husbandry knowledge and increasing the availability of captive-bred animals. With that success comes responsibility for the lineages we maintain. Hybridisation may seem like an isolated breeding experiment,...

First report of cave-adapted mite harvesters (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) from Aotearoa New Zealand

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First report of cave-adapted mite harvesters (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) from Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Mite harvesters (Arachnida: Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi) are tiny arachnids known to inhabit leaf litter on forest floors throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. Recently, Cyphophthalmi in the genus Aoraki were discovered in caves in the northern South Island, representing the first records of cave-dwelling mite harvesters from New Zealand. A comparison of anatomical ratios taken from body and appendage measurements of the cave animals and epigean Aoraki species demonstrate that the cave animals display trends characteristic of troglobitic arthropods, suggesting adaptation to cavernicolous environments. We sequenced the mitochondrial loci COI and 16S rRNA from one of the cave specimens in order to better define the animal's phylogenetic position and to assess the possibility that it represents a new species. Using an integrative taxonomic approach, results suggest the animals are cave-adapted populations of Aoraki westlandica.

Acknowledgment: I am grateful to Dr. Sirvid for kindly sharing the full paper with me through ResearchGate. 

Vang, U. Y., Henderson, S. A., Sirvid, P. J., Stewart, A. M., & Boyer, S. L. (2025). First report of cave-adapted mite harvesters (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) from Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Entomologist, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00779962.2025.2529069