A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation?

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  A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation? Abstract Pseudoscorpions are well known for phoretic associations with arthropods, but interactions with amphibians are rarely documented. Here we report a pseudoscorpion attached to the left palpebral region of an adult male Italian cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus , observed during a visual survey in a karst cave in Tuscany, Italy. The pseudoscorpion, assigned on the basis of visible morphology and locality to Chthonius cf. elongatus , was grasping a minute cutaneous fold on the lower margin of the left upper eyelid with one chela while the salamander moved slowly over the rock surface. No handling was performed and the initial contact between the two animals was not observed. The event therefore cannot be interpreted unambiguously, but may represent opportunistic phoresy or defensive attachment following a failed predation attempt. To our knowledge, this is the first published observation of a ...

Five new species and one new record of armored spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Thailand

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Five new species and one new record of armored spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Thailand

Abstract

Five new cave-dwelling species and one newly recorded litter-dwelling species belonging to the family Tetrablemmidae are described from Thailand, i.e., Ablemma erna Lehtinen, 1981 (♂♀), A. theppratan Tong & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), A. yamae Tong & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), Shearella khaoplu Tong & Li, sp. nov. (♂), S. thamphothisat Tong & Li, sp. nov. (♂) and Tetrablemma lorkor Tong & Li, sp. nov. (♂). Diagnoses and illustrations for all six species are given.

Shi S, Bian D, Tong Y, Li S (2026) Five new species and one new record of armored spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Thailand. ZooKeys 1279: 285-310. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1279.189587