When Tarantula Venom Comes from a Misnamed Spider: The Importance of Taxonomic Accuracy in Theraphosid Toxinology

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  When Tarantula Venom Comes from a Misnamed Spider: The Importance of Taxonomic Accuracy in Theraphosid Toxinology I am very happy to share my most recent publication in Toxicon. This is a particularly meaningful publication for me because it brings together two areas that have become an important part of my work and personal interests: tarantulas and toxinology. At first glance, taxonomy and venom research may seem like two very different fields. In reality, they are closely connected. Before we can properly study the venom of a spider, we need to know which spider we are actually studying. Why the Name Matters A scientific name is much more than a label attached to an animal. It connects that animal to everything we report about it, including its biology, distribution, behavior, venom, toxins, and even its potential medical importance. When a tarantula is incorrectly identified, or when an outdated name continues to be used without considering changes in taxonomy, the problem ca...

Two new species of the Cybaeus hiroshimaensis-group (Araneae: Cybaeidae) from the northern Hida Mountains, Japan

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Two new species of the Cybaeus hiroshimaensis-group (Araneae: Cybaeidae) from the northern Hida Mountains, Japan

Abstract

Two small-sized species of the spider genus Cybaeus L. Koch, 1868, C. pycnothrix sp. nov. and C. tateyamensis sp. nov., are described based on both sexes from the Tateyama Mountain Range in the Hida Mountains, central Honshu, Japan. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear internal transcribed spacer 1, 28S rRNA, and histone H3 markers revealed that the two new species are members of the monophyletic Japanese Cybaeus hiroshimaensis-group. Both new species conform to the morphological diagnosis of the hiroshimaensis-group — small body size and a short, thick male palp — and build two-opening retreats, indicating that retreat architecture in the group varies and encompasses both two- and three-opening forms.


Nakano, T., Ogawa, G., Mori, K., Hatanaka, Y., Koike, N., & Sugawara, Y. (2025). Two new species of the Cybaeus hiroshimaensis-group (Araneae: Cybaeidae) from the northern Hida Mountains, Japan. Soil Organisms, 97(3), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.25674/461