Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

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  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters VOL. 71 · NO. 1 | June 2026

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Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters VOL. 71 · NO. 1 | June 2026

A new species of Panamomops (Araneae: Linyphiidae) from Ukraine with the first record of P. inconspicuus for the country

Valery A. Gnelitsa
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters Jun 2026 Vol. 71, No. 1: 1-8
https://www.bioone.org/journals/arachnologische-mitteilungen/volume-71/issue-1/aramit7101/A-new-species-of-Panamomops-Araneae--Linyphiidae-from-Ukraine/10.30963/aramit7101.full

First record of Macrothele calpeiana (Araneae: Macrothelidae) in Austria

Antonia Grausgruber, Martin Hepner, Sonja Reimoser & Christian Baranyi
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters Jun 2026 Vol. 71, No. 1: 9-12
https://www.bioone.org/journals/arachnologische-mitteilungen/volume-71/issue-1/aramit7102/First-record-of-Macrothele-calpeiana-Araneae-Macrothelidae-in-Austria/10.30963/aramit7102.full

Epigeic spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in urban green spaces in Westphalia

Kolina Büll & Sascha Buchholz
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters Jun 2026 Vol. 71, No. 1: 13-13
https://www.bioone.org/journals/arachnologische-mitteilungen/volume-71/issue-1/aramit7103/Epigeic-spiders-Arachnida--Araneae-in-urban-green-spaces-in/10.30963/aramit7103.full

New records of Segestria florentina from Germany with observations on somatic and genitalic differences in juveniles and adults compared to S. bavarica (Araneae: Segestriidae)

Stephan Lauterbach & Gregor Imbusch
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters Jun 2026 Vol. 71, No. 1: 14-22
https://www.bioone.org/journals/arachnologische-mitteilungen/volume-71/issue-1/aramit7104/New-records-of-Segestria-florentina-from-Germany-with-observations-on/10.30963/aramit7104.full

A new eyeless Hahnia from the French Pyrenees with remarks on Iberina mazarredoi (Araneae: Hahniidae)

Robert Bosmans & Samuel Danflous
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters Jun 2026 Vol. 71, No. 1: 23-28
https://www.bioone.org/journals/arachnologische-mitteilungen/volume-71/issue-1/aramit7105/A-new-eyeless-Hahnia-from-the-French-Pyrenees-with-remarks/10.30963/aramit7105.full