A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species

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  A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species Abstract The ability to adhere to surfaces is particularly relevant for cursorial predatory arthropods like hunting spiders, which often traverse relatively complex environments characterized by large variation in substrate properties. Here, we evaluated the adhesive performance of six hunting spider species that are common in eastern temperate North America and lack specialized tarsi for climbing smooth or inclined surfaces [Lycosidae: Pardosa lapidicina Emerton, 1885 and Rabidosa rabida (Walckenaer, 1837); Oxyopidae: Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845; Pisauridae: Pisaurina mira (Walckenaer, 1837); Dolomedidae: Dolomedes triton (Walckenaer, 1837), and Dolomedes scriptus Hentz, 1845]. We tested adhesion performance as shear load resistance (g) on a glass plate, and as the angle of failure (°) when the plate was gradually inclined relative to horizontal. Average angle of failure and shear resistance differed among ...

Integrative taxonomy of six new species in the Aname spicata-complex (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae) from Western Australia's Northern Jarrah Forest subregion

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Integrative taxonomy of six new species in the Aname spicata-complex (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae) from Western Australia's Northern Jarrah Forest subregion 

Abstract

The wishbone spiders of the genus Aname L. Koch, 1873 are highly diverse mygalomorph spiders with an extremely widespread distribution across continental mainland Australia. In this study we use an integrative approach, providing morphological and molecular data combined with natural history information, to address a taxonomic knowledge shortfall in the Northern Jarrah Forest subregion of south-western Western Australia. We here report the presence of at least two different clades in the area: the pulchella group and the mainae group. We describe six new species for the region, belonging to the newly defined ‘A. spicata-complex’ of the pulchella group: A. crassitibia sp. nov., A. inexpecta sp. nov., A. minuta sp. nov., A. reliquia sp. nov., A. spicata sp. nov. and A. trapezoidalis sp. nov. We also designate A. fuscocincta Rainbow & Pulleine, 1918 as a nomen dubium, the holotype being an unidentifiable juvenile. These findings expand our understanding of the diversity and distribution of Aname in the south-western Australian biodiversity hotspot and serve as a foundation for future, more comprehensive studies in the region. Given the ongoing resource extraction activities in the area, this work will also be important for environmental monitoring and conservation purposes.

Andrea Piccinini, Mark S. Harvey, Michael G. Rix, Leigh W. Simmons, Jeremy D. Wilson "Integrative taxonomy of six new species in the Aname spicata-complex (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae) from Western Australia’s Northern Jarrah Forest subregion," Invertebrate Systematics, 39(12), (22 December 2025) https://doi.org/10.1071/IS25051