Beneath the surface: A new northern species of Trogloraptor (Araneae: Trogloraptoridae), genetic diversity and natural history

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  Beneath the surface: A new northern species of Trogloraptor (Araneae: Trogloraptoridae), genetic diversity and natural history Abstract We present a morphological description of a recently discovered species of spider in the family Trogloraptoridae from the Columbia River Gorge in northwestern Oregon. The family was previously monotypic (Trogloraptor marchingtoni) and only known from populations near the southwestern Oregon—northern California border. Trogloraptor tulishpun sp. nov. retains the key family synapomorphy, distinctive subsegmented raptorial tarsi, and an oblique membranous division of the basal segment of the anterior lateral spinnerets. Trogloraptor tulishpun is distinguished from T. marchingtoni by its color pattern, clypeal height, vulvar and palp structure. We have found T. tulishpun in four localities in the Columbia River Gorge, which show little mitochondrial sequence divergence from one another, but are highly genetically distinct from T. marchingtoni. Troglo...

Sexual association and description of the male of Braunilla nigrina (Banks, 1946) (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae, Pompilinae)

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Sexual association and description of the male of Braunilla nigrina (Banks, 1946) (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae, Pompilinae)

ABSTRACT

The family Pompilidae (Latreille, 1804), within the order Hymenoptera, comprises a monophyletic group of solitary wasps, notably specialized in the predation and provisioning of spiders as a larval resource. The genus Braunilla (= Balboana Banks, 1944), restricted to the Neotropical region, currently includes 11 valid species, of which only two have males formally described. Braunilla nigrina was originally described by Nathan Banks in 1946; however, the original description lacks precise information regarding the sex of the holotype, generating taxonomic uncertainty concerning the sexual identity of the species. In this context, the present study aimed to conduct a morphological revision of B. nigrina, focusing on sexual association and morphological characterization of the specimens. A total of 22 individuals were examined, collected from the Cerrado biome in the municipalities of Capitólio and Ingaí, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Based on detailed morphological analyses, it was possible to associate males and females, which allowed for the first formal description of the male and the redescription of the female based on additional material. Regional studies such as this are essential for advancing the taxonomic knowledge of Pompilidae in Brazil, providing significant contributions in terms of morphological data, distributional records, and formal descriptions of poorly known species such as B. nigrina.

Souza, R. F., Nunes, J. F., Almeida, D. J. D. S., & Hermes, M. G.. (2026). Sexual association and description of the male of Braunilla nigrina () (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae, Pompilinae). Revista Brasileira De Entomologia, 70(2), e20250124. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2025-0124