In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García

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  In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García -  Photo © Facebook/National Museum of Natural History of Cuba In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García The arachnological community mourns the loss of Giraldo Alayón García, a Cuban zoologist whose work helped bring the spiders of Cuba and the wider Caribbean into clearer scientific view. As a researcher and curator at Cuba’s National Museum of Natural History, Dr. Alayón devoted decades to studying arachnids. His publications on spider taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography gave other researchers a stronger foundation for understanding the region’s biodiversity. He also shared that knowledge through teaching and scientific exchange far beyond Cuba. For those of us who care about taxonomy, his legacy is a reminder of the patient work behind every species description: examining specimens, recording differences, and preserving knowledge that others can build upon. His contributions will continue to guide the study of Caribbean spiders for years to ...

Presumed Glomerular Neuropils in the Central Nervous Systems of Spiders (Araneae)

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Presumed Glomerular Neuropils in the Central Nervous Systems of Spiders (Araneae)

ABSTRACT

While spiders are known for their tactile and vibratory senses, their sense of smell has not been well researched at all. Only relatively few behavioral studies have been published showing that spiders can perceive pheromones and may be able to smell prey or predators. Less is known about the nature of their olfactory neurons and sense organs (sensilla), and nothing is known about how and where olfactory information is processed in the spider's central nervous system. This comparative anatomical study is the first to describe presumed chemosensory glomeruli in the central nervous system of spiders. Such glomeruli are the anatomical hallmark of olfactory processing in other taxa. This study finds presumed olfactory glomeruli residing ventrally in each neuromere of the legs and pedipalps (feelers) of all spider families examined. Unlike olfactory glomeruli in most insects or vertebrates, in spiders, these presumed chemosensory glomeruli are often elongated rather than spherical. Anterograde tracing of neurons originating from chemosensory sensilla on the legs shows that these presumed chemosensory glomeruli are supplied by primary chemosensory afferents, at least some of which may supply more than one glomerulus. In addition, a previously described central structure, referred to as the Blumenthal neuropil and presumed to receive hygro- and thermo-sensory input, is here shown to also comprise glomerular components. One or more of these central Blumenthal glomeruli are particularly large in male spiders. In analogy to insect macroglomeruli, this suggests that these glomeruli might be involved in processing pheromone information. These findings are discussed with reference to insect and vertebrate olfactory information processing.

Gronenberg, W. (2026). Presumed Glomerular Neuropils in the Central Nervous Systems of Spiders (Araneae). Journal of Comparative Neurology, 534(1), e70122. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.70122