Thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale: novel insights and comparative analysis with a sympatric species

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  Thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale: novel insights and comparative analysis with a sympatric species Abstract Understanding thermal responses in ectotherms is key to assessing vulnerability to climate change. Tarantulas (Theraphosidae) are informative models due to their sedentary lifestyle, long life cycles, and reliance on specific microhabitats. We present the first integrative assessment of the thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale , a widespread Argentine species, combining experimentally derived thermal limits and thermal preferences with species distribution models, and compare its thermal profile with the sympatric Grammostola vachoni to explore patterns of thermal niche differentiation. Plesiopelma longisternale showed a minimum thermal limit near 4 °C, a maximum near 44 °C, a thermal optimum of 29.5 °C, a narrow thermal performance breadth, and a preferred temperature of approximately 32 °C. Models integrating climatic and thermal parameters predicted...

First records of the genus Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 (Araneae, Araneidae) from China, with the description of two new species

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First records of the genus Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 (Araneae, Araneidae) from China, with the description of two new species

Abstract

The genus Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 is recorded from China for the first time, with two new species described here from Xizang: Parazygiella jianxini Mi & Wang, sp. nov. (♂♀) and P. yanghongae Mi & Wang, sp. nov. (♂♀). Additionally, two species, P. hiramatsui (Tanikawa, 2017), comb. nov. and P. nearctica (Gertsch, 1964), comb. nov. are transferred from Zygiella F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902.

Mi X, Wang C, Chen H (2026) First records of the genus Parazygiella Wunderlich, 2004 (Araneae, Araneidae) from China, with the description of two new species. ZooKeys 1269: 41-54. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1269.163661