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

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