Examining ecological niche for six species of whip spider in Colombia

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  Examining ecological niche for six species of whip spider in Colombia  Abstract The conditioning variables for the establishment of Amblypygi populations and their ecological interactions are currently poorly studied. Delving deeper into this can help to conserve this group of short-range distribution species, which are useful as a model in biogeographic research. In this study, we evaluated the distribution and overlapping patterns of ecological niche in six species of amblypygids ( Phrynus araya , P. panche , P. pulchripes , Heterophrynus batesii , H. boterorum , H. cervinus ) in the Andean and Amazonian ecosystems of Colombia, revealing a clear biogeographic segregation driven by environmental gradients: Phrynus species were associated with inter-Andean valleys with high thermal and water seasonality.  While the Heterophrynus occupied more stable and humid conditions of foothills and middle elevations. Overlap analyses showed significant divergence (e.g., D=0.105 b...

Should snakes used in antivenom production be retired? An analysis of Bothrops moojeni venom at different ages

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By (Greg Hume) - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12164448

Should snakes used in antivenom production be retired? An analysis of Bothrops moojeni venom at different ages

ABSTRACT

Accidents involving venomous snakes in Brazil are mostly caused by the Bothrops genus. Snake venoms, just like Bothrops moojeni venom, one of the snake species used to produce the antibotropic serum, may have variations in its venom due to many factors like age, which could be analyzed due to the excellent maintenance of the Butantan Institute's vivarium. Therefore, analyzing the influence of senility on the venom profile is important in order to understand and guarantee the efficacy of the antibotropic serum. To this end, pools of Bothrops moojeni were used to better understand this variation, with females and males, adults and seniles. The results showed a variation between the adult and senile groups, where the adult groups have a higher proteolytic activity, while the senile groups have a higher coagulant and hemolytic activity. In relation to the immuno-recognition tests carried out, the senile groups were less recognized than the adults, an important result to guide more assertive treatment if necessary. Consequently, the venom of Bothrops moojeni varies according to senility, highlighting the importance of this study not only for this species, but for others that may also have this variation.
Moitas, M., Reis, G., Lima, E., Tavares, M., Tasima, L., Silveira, G., Grego, K., & Tanaka-Azevedo, A. (2025). Should snakes used in antivenom production be retired? An analysis of Bothrops moojeni venom at different ages. Toxicon, 108624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108624