Transcriptomic Insights Into the Evolution of Snake Venom: Mechanisms, Diversity, and Adaptation

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  Transcriptomic Insights Into the Evolution of Snake Venom: Mechanisms, Diversity, and Adaptation Abstract Snake venoms are evolutionarily refined biochemical arsenals composed of diverse toxins with complex functional roles in predation, defense, and competition. Over the past 2 decades, transcriptomic approaches have transformed venom research by enabling high-resolution insights into gene expression dynamics, molecular diversity, and the evolutionary mechanisms driving venom variation across lineages. In this review, we present a comprehensive synthesis of snake venom transcriptomics literature and propose a conceptual framework structured around three major axes: (1) gene family expansion through duplication and neofunctionalization; (2) regulatory complexity encompassing transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and epigenetic modulation; and (3) ecological selection pressures shaping venom profiles in response to diet, habitat, and interspecific interactions. We integrate findin...

New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae)

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New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae)

Abstract

Updated data on Indian nursery-web spiders of the genera Dendrolycosa Doleschall, 1859, Euprosthenops Pocock, 1897, Hygropoda Thorell, 1895a, Perenethis L. Koch, 1878, and Polyboea Thorell, 1895b are presented here. The following new synonymy is recognised: Dendrolycosa bobbiliensis (Reddy & Patel, 1993) syn. nov. is synonymised with D. robusta (Thorell, 1895). The validity of Dendrolycosa gitae (Tikader, 1970), D. sahyadriensis Sudhin, Sen & Jäger, 2023, and D. stauntoni Pocock, 1900 is discussed. The possible synonymy of Dendrolycosa sahyadriensis with D. gitae, as well as that of D. gitae with D. spadicaria (Simon, 1897a), and Polyboea zonaformis (Wang, 1993) with P. vulpina Thorell, 1895 are discussed. Euprosthenops ellioti (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) is redescribed and illustrated based on its type material, and the vulva of the genus is illustrated for the first time. A lectotype is designated for Hygropoda gracilis (Thorell, 1891), which is redescribed based on the type and freshly collected material. A new species, Hygropoda kannimara Sankaran sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on male and female specimens collected from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Redescriptions of Perenethis sindica (Simon, 1897) and P. vulpina based on freshly collected material are provided, and doubt is cast on the possible synonymy of the former species with P. venusta L. Koch, 1878. Finally, discusion about the type locality of Perenethis dentifasciata (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) is presented.

Sankaran, P.M., Abraham, A., Williams, S.H. & Asima, A. (2026) New data on Indian nursery-web spiders (Araneae: Pisauridae). Zootaxa, 5757 (1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.1.1