Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production

  Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production Abstract Variability in the antibody response of horses used for snake antivenom manufacture is well recognized, yet its statistical structure and implications for industrial productivity remain poorly characterized. In this study, we quantified antivenom antibody titers by ELISA in a cohort of 14 horses immunized with venoms from the clinically most important snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. To integrate antibody levels with plasma availability, we calculated the Cumulative Plasma Productivity (CPP) by converting individual plasma volumes into titer-corrected equivalents and sequentially pooling these volumes according to their corrected contribution. Distributional analysis revealed right-skewed, heavy-tailed patterns better approximated by a log-normal model than by a strict Pareto (power-law) form, with approximately 20–3...

A new endemic genus of tarantula (Theraphosidae, Ischnocolinae) from southern Peru

 


A new endemic genus of tarantula (Theraphosidae, Ischnocolinae) from southern Peru

We propose establishing a new genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869, from the Province Calca, Department of Cusco, Peru. The monotypic genus Allpamayu n. gen. with its type species Allpamayu suyuwixsa n. gen, n. sp. is described. Allpamayu n. gen. differs from the known Ischnocolinae Simon, 1892 by the following unique combination of characters: abdomen with stripes, labium with a low number of cuspules, and clavate trichobothria on tarsi forming two parallel rows along half of tarsus length. Additional characters are palpal bulb of males with two keels, metatarsal ventral tumescence on the first pair of legs, cymbium with long erected setae, spermathecae of females with large subquadrate receptacles and a short wide duct oriented laterally and pointing upwards carrying two to three rounded lobes.

BERATZ M., FERRETTI N. E., CHAPARRO J. C., OCHOA J. A., ALLEN J. P. & WEST R. C. 2026. — A new endemic genus of tarantula (Theraphosidae, Ischnocolinae) from southern Peru. Zoosystema 48 (9): 273-286. https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema2026v48a9http://zoosystema.com/48/9