Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

Analysis of potential host spider(s) of Pepsis elegans Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae: Pepsini)

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Analysis of potential host spider(s) of Pepsis elegans Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae: Pepsini)

Abstract

Five families of spiders (Araneae: Araneomorphae, Mygalomorphae) are reviewed and analyzed as potential hosts of Pepsis elegans Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae: Pepsini). Lycosidae and Atypidae were the least likely host families, afer analysis, with Euctenizidae, Antrodiaetidae, and Halono¬proctidae as more likely host families. Species of Ummidia Torell (Halonoproctidae) and Eucteniza relata (O. P.-Cambridge) (Euctenizidae) were the most likely host genera and species of P. elegans based on myga¬lomorph relationship, equivalent size, and morphological, geographical, ecological, and biological attributes. Smaller sized genera and species of Euctenizidae and Antrodiaetus Ausserer (Antrodiaetidae) were less likely host possibilities.

Kurczewski FJ. 2026. Analysis of potential host spider(s) of Pepsis elegans Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae: Pepsini). Insecta Mundi 1168: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.64338/im.1168.5stu4