Broad-Scale Climatic Gradients Drive Multiple Facets of Scorpion Beta Diversity in Northeastern Brazil

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  Broad-Scale Climatic Gradients Drive Multiple Facets of Scorpion Beta Diversity in Northeastern Brazil ABSTRACT Aim Beta diversity analyses clarify mechanisms structuring ecological communities, but their multidimensional facets remain poorly explored in arthropods. Here, we quantified taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional beta diversity in scorpions, partitioned these facets into species replacement and richness differences, and evaluated the relative importance of spatial structure and environmental conditions in driving community assembly. Location Northeastern Brazil, South America. Taxon Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Methods Taxonomic beta diversity was estimated using species presence across 70 sites in northeastern Brazil. Phylogenetic turnover was calculated from a multi-locus molecular tree, and functional beta diversity was derived from morphometric and ecological traits. All beta diversity facets were decomposed into replacement and richness-difference component...

Predation of Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) by a Middle East Black Tarantula, Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Lebanon

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Predation of Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) by a Middle East Black Tarantula, Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Lebanon

Abstract


I report the first documented case of the buthid scorpion Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) serving as prey for the tarantula Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) in Lebanon. The observation was made during a nocturnal survey in the Mount Lebanon region. The case contributes to the limited records of tarantula predation on scorpions and underscores the role of prey-predator size asymmetry in facilitating high-risk predation among arachnids.


Khashab, R. 2025 . Predation of Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) by a Middle East Black Tarantula, Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Lebanon. Euscorpius, No. 423: 1-3. 

https://mds.marshall.edu/euscorpius/vol2025/iss423/1/