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

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  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...

Morphological and molecular evidence support a new species of the genus Ilocomba Brescovit, 1997 (Araneae, Anyphaenidae, Anyphaeninae) from the Andes of Colombia

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Morphological and molecular evidence support a new species of the genus Ilocomba Brescovit, 1997 (Araneae, Anyphaenidae, Anyphaeninae) from the Andes of Colombia

Abstract

We describe a new species of the genus Ilocomba Brescovit, 1997 from the Andean region of Colombia using an integrative taxonomic approach that combines morphological and molecular data. We assess the phylogenetic position of the new species using four molecular markers: COI, 16S, 28S, and H3. The distinctiveness of the new species, Ilocomba yotoco sp. nov., is supported by its placement in the phylogenetic tree, unique morphological characteristics, and uncorrected pairwise genetic distances. We also provide new morphological data and geographic records for Ilocomba marta Brescovit, 1997. Additionally, we present a distribution map of the genus and an updated identification key for all known species of Ilocomba.

Martínez L, Eyes-Escalante M, Cabra-García J (2026) Morphological and molecular evidence support a new species of the genus Ilocomba Brescovit, 1997 (Araneae, Anyphaenidae, Anyphaeninae) from the Andes of Colombia. ZooKeys 1278: 19-51. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1278.162601