Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae)

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  Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae) Abstract The taxonomic validity of the spider family  Fonteferreidae  Wunderlich, 2023 is re-evaluated in light of new morphological evidence. This araneoid family was originally established based on a single specimen, the male holotype, that lacked both distinctive somatic characters and reproductive structures. Upon re-examination, the holotype specimen was found to be a subadult male, and consequently the diagnostic traits previously cited to justify its familial status are found to be unsubstantiated. In absence of the necessary empirical evidence, the erection of the family  Fonteferreidae , the genus  Fonteferrea  Wunderlich, 2023, and  F.   minutissima  Wunderlich, 2023 must be rejected. We recommend that  Fonteferrea   minutissima , the genus  Fonteferrea , and the family  Fonteferreidae  be formally treated a...

Bioactivity profiling of spider venoms reveals predominant hyaluronidase activities

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Bioactivity profiling of spider venoms reveals predominant hyaluronidase activities

Abstract

Spider venoms are primarily composed of small neurotoxic peptides. However, recent studies suggested a hitherto overlooked diversity of spider venom enzymes, although their functional space still remains largely unexplored. We tested 10 spider venoms for enzymatic activities covering six enzyme classes and found that all tested enzymatic activities can be detected in at least some of the venoms and that hyaluronidases exhibit particularly high enzymatic activities. With this, our study provides functional evidence for the proposed biological significance of enzymes in spider venoms, but more detailed investigations are required.
Dresler, J., Herzig, V., Schulte, L., & Lüddecke, T. (2025). Bioactivity profiling of spider venoms reveals predominant hyaluronidase activities. Toxicon, 108667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108667