Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider

Posted by
  Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider ABSTRACT Sex differences in behavior and functional traits are often attributed to differences in mating effort intensity, but the role of sex-specific parental demands remains poorly understood. Using the jumping spider Toxeus maxillosus —where males engage in mate searching and courtship without providing parental care, while females provide extended maternal care from egg attendance to offspring maturity (around 3 months)—we conducted an exploratory investigation into whether these distinct selective pressures led to divergence in spatial behaviors and nest architecture. Results revealed that males and females showed equivalent accuracy, latency, and learning-related performance in both a route-planning test under water stress and a color-pattern associative memory task. In contrast, during nest-construction assays, females built complex, multi-entrance structures that closely matched the container'...

Velvet Revolution: integrative taxonomy of South Caucasian Eresus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Eresidae), with five new species

Posted by

 


Velvet Revolution: integrative taxonomy of South Caucasian Eresus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Eresidae), with five new species 

Abstract

This study is part of a series devoted to the systematic revision of the velvet spider genus Eresus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae: Eresidae) in Western Asia, and represents a milestone toward understanding the biodiversity of this group in the South Caucasus and adjacent territories. Currently, only three species of Eresus are known from the South Caucasus, although the presence of E. kollari Rossi, 1846 is highly questionable. Integrating both morphological data and COI barcoding results, we herein describe and illustrate five new species: E. albimarginatus Seropian and Zamani, sp. nov. (♂), E. deminutus Seropian and Bulbulashvili, sp. nov. (♂), E. gulliver Seropian and Arsenashvili, sp. nov. (♂♀), E. megobroba Seropian and Bulbulashvili, sp. nov. (♂), all from Georgia, and E. tigrani Zamani, Seropian, Zarikian and Szűts, sp. nov. (♂♀) from Armenia and Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic). An updated phylogeny, incorporating 23 newly generated sequences, revealed eight distinct maternal lineages, four of which are formally recognized as species-groups. Previous South Caucasian records of E. kollari and E. tristis Kroneberg, 1875 are considered misidentifications and are, therefore, rejected. We provide a map of the known localities of South Caucasian Eresus species, based on examined material and data from social networking platforms.


Seropian, A., Zamani, A., Bulbulashvili, N., Arsenashvili, E., Zarikian, N., & Szűts, T. (2025). Velvet Revolution: Integrative taxonomy of South Caucasian Eresus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Eresidae), with five new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 205(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf169