Whole-Genome sequencing of the schizomid arachnid Rowlandius potiguar Santos, Ferreira and Buzzato, 2013 from the caves of the Brazilian semiarid

Posted by
  Image Credit: CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40194191 Whole-Genome sequencing of the schizomid arachnid Rowlandius potiguar Santos, Ferreira and Buzzato, 2013 from the caves of the Brazilian semiarid Abstract Short-tailed whip scorpions (Arachnida: Schizomida) are a poorly studied group of arachnids, particularly in terms of genomic resources, despite their ecological and evolutionary relevance in subterranean environments. In this study, we present the first draft genome assembly of Rowlandius potiguar, a cave-associated species endemic to karst systems of northeastern Brazil. Genomic DNA was sequenced using Illumina paired-end technology (2 × 150 bp), and reads were assembled using a de novo assembly pipeline. The resulting genome assembly has a total length of 1.8 Gb, distributed across 1,505,104 scaffolds and 1,510,944 contigs, indicating a highly fragmented assembly. The scaffold N50 and contig N50 values were both 3.2 kb, and the GC content was ...

Erranticosa gen. nov.: a New Genus of Wolf Spiders from East Asia with Notes on its Separation from Lycosa and Hogna (Araneae Lycosidae: Lycosinae)

Posted by

 


Erranticosa gen. nov.: a New Genus of Wolf Spiders from East Asia with Notes on its Separation from Lycosa and Hogna (Araneae Lycosidae: Lycosinae)

Abstract
The taxonomy and systematic position of the Eastern Asian wolf spider Lycosa coelestis L. Koch, 1878 are revised using an integrative approach. Our study highlights distinctive morphological and molecular differences that separate this species from the generotypes of Lycosa Sundevall,1833 and Hogna Simon, 1885, to which L. coelestis was previously assigned. Based on these findings, we establish a new monotypic genus, Erranticosa gen. nov., to accommodate this species, namely E. coelestis comb. nov. We also discuss the results of a preliminary molecular phylogenetic analysis of the subfamily Lycosinae, including Erranticosa gen. nov. Additionally, based on morphological examination of the type material, we reject the synonymy of Lycosa subcoelestis Fox, 1935 with E. coelestis comb. nov., transferring it to Trochosa C.L. Koch, 1847 as a valid full species, and we establish the new combination, i.e., T. subcoelestis (Fox, 1935) comb. nov. At the same time, we synonymize Foxicosa Roewer, 1960 (type species: Lycosa subcoelestis Fox, 1935), previously considered a junior synonym of Lycosa, with Trochosa. Our findings highlight the need for an integrative taxonomic and systematic revision of Asian lycosid taxa, as many may be overlooked or misclassified.

Ballarin, F., Marusik, Y. M., Cheng, R. C. & Eguchi, K. (2026b). Erranticosa gen. nov.: a new genus of wolf spiders from East Asia with notes on its separation from Lycosa and Hogna (Araneae Lycosidae: Lycosinae). Zoological Studies 65(12): 1-20. doi: 10.6620/ZS.2026.65-12