First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae

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  First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae Abstract Flies of the genus Megaselia Rondani, 1856 exhibit exceptional ecological flexibility, with certain species acting as facultative parasites. This study presents the first documented cases of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) infesting captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae, Ceratogyrus darlingi Pocock, 1897 and Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994) in terrarium settings. Our observations demonstrate that M . abdita colonise artificial habitats and exploit spider hosts similarly to Megaselia scalaris . Citation: Szymański, D.M., Szymański, D., Kłonowski, P. (2026). First record of Megaselia abdita (Schmitz, 1959) (Diptera: Phoridae) infestation in captive tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Dipteron, 42, 25-29. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23137389

Five new species of the trapdoor spider genus Latouchia Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Halonoproctidae) from China

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Five new species of the trapdoor spider genus Latouchia Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Halonoproctidae) from China

Abstract

Five new species of the trapdoor spider genus Latouchia Pocock, 1901 are described from southern China based on both morphological and molecular evidence: L. jihe sp. nov. (♂♀), L. wufeng sp. nov. (♂♀), L. wuhan sp. nov. (♂♀), L. yinggen sp. nov. (♂♀), and L. zhangping sp. nov. (♂♀). The male and female of L. jinyun Hao, Yu & Zhang, 2025 are also redescribed from specimens collected in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, China, located over 100 km from the type locality in Chongqing Municipality. Species delimitation is supported by genetic distance analyses of the mitochondrial DNA barcode gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI), comparing the five new species with five previously described taxa. GenBank accession codes for the five new species and L. jinyun are provided to facilitate future identification and taxonomic research.

Xiong Y, Li D, Xu X (2025) Five new species of the trapdoor spider genus Latouchia Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Halonoproctidae) from China. ZooKeys 1265: 103-127. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1265.175629