Venomics of the six-eyed sand spider, Sicarius rugosus (Araneae: Sicariidae), from the neotropical dry forest of Costa Rica

Posted by
  Venomics of the six-eyed sand spider, Sicarius rugosus (Araneae: Sicariidae), from the neotropical dry forest of Costa Rica Abstract Background Sicarius rugosus , the only member of the genus that inhabits Central America, is phylogenetically related to South American  Sicarius  spiders. These originated from a common ancestor with sister African species. Like  Loxosceles ,  Sicarius  exhibits venom phospholipase D activity due to a group of toxins known collectively as SicTox. Methods A gel-assisted, bottom-up, proteomic analysis was performed to characterize the venom composition of  S. rugosus . Hyaluronidase activity was determined using zymography. Results We identified several SicTox sequences, all classified as β-clade paralogs and sharing unique peptides with proteins from  S. patagonicus ,  S. peruensis,  and other species. Enzymes such as metalloproteinases, including putative astacins, carboxypeptidases, and angiotensin-conv...

First records of Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017) (Araneae, Lycosidae) outside of the type locality in northwestern Madagascar

Posted by

 


First records of Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017) (Araneae, Lycosidae) outside of the type locality in northwestern Madagascar

Abstract

The Malagasy endemic wolf spider Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017), previously known from a single small patch of sandy habitat adjacent to a permanent lake in the Mariarano Classified Forest in northwestern Madagascar, is recorded from two additional localities with similar habitat along the Mariarano River, 10 km and 45 km from the type locality. These finds indicate the possibility that this highly specialized species could have a larger distribution than originally thought, but also they show the importance of protecting such vulnerable habitats.

Pett BL, Escobar-Toledo J, de Beer L, Murray KI, Rakotorahalahy M, Siméon F, Rivoson JL (2025) First records of Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017) (Araneae, Lycosidae) outside of the type locality in northwestern Madagascar. Check List 21(6): 1257-1261. https://doi.org/10.15560/21.6.1257