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...

Ghost sighting: first Southeast Asian record of the ghost spider family Anyphaenidae, describing a new Rathalos species from Java, Indonesia

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Ghost sighting: first Southeast Asian record of the ghost spider family Anyphaenidae, describing a new Rathalos species from Java, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

A new species of bamboo-associated ghost spider, Rathalos inagami Dhiya’ulhaq & Dwikelana sp. nov., is described from Java, Indonesia, based on male and female specimens. The species is diagnosed by distinct genitalic characters, including a four-lobed median apophysis in males and a wide triangular epigynal plate with strongly S-shaped copulatory ducts in females. This constitutes the first record of the family Anyphaenidae and the genus Rathalos from Southeast Asia, thereby extending the known distribution of the group.