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...

Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae)

 


Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae)

Abstract

The taxonomic validity of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 is re-evaluated in light of new morphological evidence. This araneoid family was originally established based on a single specimen, the male holotype, that lacked both distinctive somatic characters and reproductive structures. Upon re-examination, the holotype specimen was found to be a subadult male, and consequently the diagnostic traits previously cited to justify its familial status are found to be unsubstantiated. In absence of the necessary empirical evidence, the erection of the family Fonteferreidae, the genus Fonteferrea Wunderlich, 2023, and F. minutissima Wunderlich, 2023 must be rejected. We recommend that Fonteferrea minutissima, the genus Fonteferrea, and the family Fonteferreidae be formally treated as a nomina dubia within Araneae.

Lopardo L, Dupérré N, Hormiga G, Michalik P (2026) Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae). ZooKeys 1278: 95-109. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1278.181771