New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname)

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Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname)

ABSTRACT

Among invertebrates, spiders are regarded as a model group for sexual selection studies. However, our understanding of their mating behaviour is highly biased towards species in the infraorder Araneomorphae. Knowledge of the mating systems of mygalomorph spiders (infraorder Mygalomorphae) remains rudimentary at best. Here, we report on the mating behaviour of a recently described Australian wishbone spider (Anamidae: Aname inexpecta) from south-western Western Australia. In doing so, we present the first detailed observations of mating behaviour of a member of the family Anamidae and describe a remarkable, novel male sexual behaviour for mygalomorph spiders (‘burrow plugging’). This behaviour involves the male collecting soil with his chelicerae and placing it over the entrance to the female's burrow, sealing the entrance before actively guarding the plugged retreat. We provide some of the first insights into post-copulatory mate guarding in burrowing mygalomorph spiders, contributing to our understanding of mating systems in a group where such studies are rare.

Piccinini, A., Wilson, J. D., Harvey, M. S., Rix, M. G., N. Wong, K. S., & Simmons, L. W. (2026). Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname). Ecology and Evolution, 16(5), e73606. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73606