A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation?

  A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation? Abstract Pseudoscorpions are well known for phoretic associations with arthropods, but interactions with amphibians are rarely documented. Here we report a pseudoscorpion attached to the left palpebral region of an adult male Italian cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus , observed during a visual survey in a karst cave in Tuscany, Italy. The pseudoscorpion, assigned on the basis of visible morphology and locality to Chthonius cf. elongatus , was grasping a minute cutaneous fold on the lower margin of the left upper eyelid with one chela while the salamander moved slowly over the rock surface. No handling was performed and the initial contact between the two animals was not observed. The event therefore cannot be interpreted unambiguously, but may represent opportunistic phoresy or defensive attachment following a failed predation attempt. To our knowledge, this is the first published observation of a ...

The Journal of Arachnology VOL. 53 · NO. 2 | September 2025

 


The Journal of Arachnology VOL. 53 · NO. 2 | September 2025

The Journal of Arachnology


A new issue is now available online at https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2

The table of contents for this issue is listed below. Click on the links below to view the abstract for each article, or click on the link above to read the table of contents online.

If you wish to update your preferences or alerts, please sign into your account at https://bioone.org

If you need any further help, please visit https://bioone.org and click on "help".


Spider predation on Platynota stultana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in California vineyards

Michael J. Costello, Douglas J. Schmidt & Kent M. Daane
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 85-91
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-23-019/Spider-predation-on-Platynota-stultana-Lepidoptera--Tortricidae-in-California/10.1636/JoA-S-23-019.full


Paratricommatus infernalis (Opiliones: Cryptogeobiidae): a new troglobitic harvestman from southeastern Brazil

Lais Furtado Oliveira & Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 92-99
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-22-055/Paratricommatus-infernalis-Opiliones--Cryptogeobiidae--a-new-troglobitic-harvestman/10.1636/JoA-S-22-055.full


Reproductive behavior of the ogre-faced spider, Deinopis cf. cylindracea (Araneae: Deinopidae), in its natural habitat

German Antonio Villanueva-Bonilla, Vanessa Stefani, Rafael Pereira da Ponte & João Vasconcellos-Neto
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 100-104
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-24-009/Reproductive-behavior-of-the-ogre-faced-spider-Deinopis-cf-cylindracea/10.1636/JoA-S-24-009.full


Patterns of intra- and interspecific diversity in araneomorph spiders of southern high Appalachian leaf litter

Michael S. Caterino, Marc A. Milne & Ernesto Recuero
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 105-117
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-24-007/Patterns-of-intra--and-interspecific-diversity-in-araneomorph-spiders/10.1636/JoA-S-24-007.full

Efficiency of five RNA extraction protocols for Grammostola actaeon (Pocock, 1903) small spinneret tissue samples

Nancy Lo-Man-Hung, Sónia Cristina da Silva Andrade, Prashant Sharma, Tatiana Teixeira Torres & Federico D. Brown
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 118-124
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-24-023/Efficiency-of-five-RNA-extraction-protocols-for-Grammostola-actaeon-Pocock/10.1636/JoA-S-24-023.full


Methods to Identify Silk Gland Activation Patterns in Spider Spinning Behaviors

Maitry Jani, Martín Ramírez & Jonas O. Wolff
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 125-133
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-24-016/Methods-to-Identify-Silk-Gland-Activation-Patterns-in-Spider-Spinning/10.1636/JoA-S-24-016.full


Proteomics suggest pyriform silk attaches orb web capture spiral junctions

Cooper Lazo, Maria Luzaran, Jamal Magoti, Kyle Friend, Brent D. Opell & Nadia A. Ayoub
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 134-138
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-23-020/Proteomics-suggest-pyriform-silk-attaches-orb-web-capture-spiral-junctions/10.1636/JoA-S-23-020.full


Wandering in wet meadows – A mark-recapture study on Pardosa paludicola (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Urszula Suprunowicz, Aleksandra Rozumko, Mariusz Wojtalewski, Karolina Mierzyńska & Agata Kostro-Ambroziak
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 139-142
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-24-001/Wandering-in-wet-meadows--A-mark-recapture-study-on/10.1636/JoA-S-24-001.full


Jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) attacking and eating vertebrates: an update

Martin Nyffeler, Alireza Zamani, Bruce Cutler & Kenneth L. Krysko
The Journal of Arachnology Sep 2025 Vol. 53, No. 2: 143-149
https://www.bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-53/issue-2/JoA-S-23-034/Jumping-spiders-Araneae--Salticidae-attacking-and-eating-vertebrates/10.1636/JoA-S-23-034.full


Copyright 2025 BioOne. All Rights Reserved.