Spiders of the Orsiera Rocciavrè Natural Park and Foresto Ravine Natural Reserve (NW Italy): a faunistic synthesis with data from the “Biodiversity Monitoring Project”

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  Spiders of the Orsiera Rocciavrè Natural Park and Foresto Ravine Natural Reserve (NW Italy): a faunistic synthesis with data from the “Biodiversity Monitoring Project” We present an inventory of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) inhabiting the Orsiera Rocciavrè Natural Park and the Foresto Ravine Nature Reserve (NW Italy). This work combines data from bibliographic sources, unpublished material, and new sampling carried out between 2018 and 2019 as part of the “Biodiversity Monitoring Project,” supplemented by verified iNaturalist observations. In total, we report 212 species belonging to 128 genera and 32 families, including 12 new records for Piedmont. The Linyphiidae Blackwall, 1859 and the Gnaphosidae Banks, 1892 are the most represented families, as in other Alpine parks. Most species exhibit Palearctic or European distributions, with a small proportion being endemic, including rare species such as Rhode testudinea Pesarini, 1984, for which new morphological illustrations are...

Microbiota discovered in scorpion venom

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Microbiota discovered in scorpion venom

Abstract

With low nutrient availability and presence of numerous antimicrobial peptides, animal venoms have been traditionally considered to be harsh sterile environments that lack bacteria. Contrary to this assumption, recent studies of animal venom and venom-producing tissues have revealed the presence of diverse microbial communities, warranting further studies of potential microbiota in other venomous animals. In this study we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to elucidate whether scorpion venom contained bacteria, to characterize the bacterial communities, and determine if venom microbiomes differed across geologically complex geographic locations. Our study compares the venom microbiome of two scorpion species, sampled from sites in the Mojave and Great Basin deserts, Paruoctonus becki (family of Vaejovidae) and Anuroctonus phaiodactylus (family of Anuroctonidae), and represents the first assessment of microbial diversity ever conducted using the venom secretion itself, rather than the venom-producing organ and its surrounding tissues.

Murdoch B, Kleinschmit AJ, Santibáñez-López CE, Graham MR (2026) Microbiota discovered in scorpion venom. PLoS One 21(1): e0328427. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328427