Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

New species and new records of Phrynarachne crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) from Southeast Asia

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New species and new records of Phrynarachne crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) from Southeast Asia

Abstract

Two new species of Phrynarachne, P. gorochovi sp. nov. (♀), from Philippines (Luzon) and P. storozhenkoi sp. nov. (♀) from Malaysia (Borneo) are diagnosed, illustrated and described. Two species, P. ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884) and P. decipiens Forbes, 1884 are reported from Laos for the first time and their females are redescribed in detail. The distribution of P. decipiens is discussed.

Omelko MM (2025) New species and new records of Phrynarachne crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) from Southeast Asia. ZooKeys 1257: 55-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1257.165973