New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

Two new species and three new records of the cobweb spider Platnickina (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Sumatra

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Two new species and three new records of the cobweb spider Platnickina (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Sumatra

Abstract

Two new species of spiders of the genus Platnickina Koçak & Kemal, 2008 are described from Sumatra, Indonesia: Platnickina harapan Dhiya’ulhaq, sp. nov. (♂♀) and Platnickina debu Dhiya’ulhaq, sp. nov. (♂♀). Three species are recorded for the first time from Indonesia: Platnickina adamsoni (Berland, 1934), Platnickina fritilla Gao & Li, 2014, and Platnickina xianfengensis (Zhu & Song, 1992). Detailed diagnoses, descriptions and high-quality photographs are provided for the newly recorded species.

Dhiya’ulhaq NU, Buchori D, Hidayat P, Scheu S, Drescher J (2025) Two new species and three new records of the cobweb spider Platnickina (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Sumatra. Evolutionary Systematics 9(2): 203-220. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.162623