What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae)

Posted by
  What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae) Abstract We designate a neotype for the Eurasian spider species Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757, thereby fixing the objective application of the species name, the genus name Araneus Clerck 1757, the family name Araneidae Clerck 1757, and the superfamily name Araneoidea Clerck 1757. By etymology and arachnological tradition, it also unofficially fixes the application of the ordinal name Araneae Clerck 1757 and thus answers the uncontroversial question, “What’s a spider?” A. angulatus also happens to be historically the first animal species ever described because Clerck (1757) has priority over Linnaeus (1758). Neotype designation is justified for three reasons: the syntypes of A. angulatus are lost; “ A. angulatus ” contains significant COI sequence divergence, potentially representing intraspecific variation, misidentifications, or as many...

A new species of Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 from a cave in the Sai Yok National Parc in Thailand (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Posted by

 


A new species of Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 from a cave in the Sai Yok National Parc in Thailand (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Abstract

A new species, Lychas saiyok sp. n., is described from a cave in the Sai Yok National Park in western
Thailand, on the basis of an adult male. The specimen was found in the walls of this karstic cave, approximately 50-60 meters from the entry. The new species is characterized by a moderate to small size with respect to the genus (42.9 mm in total length), a general coloration from yellow to pale yellow marked by a strong pigmentation over the body and appendages, which however shows a distinct pattern from the one commonly observed in L. mucronatus, the most common Lychas species found in Southeast Asia, chelicerae showing a peculiar pigmentation formed by marked blackish spots which do not form any type of reticular structure, and pectines moderately long with 22-21 teeth. This new taxon represents the 35th described species among the currently recognized species for the genus Lychas. The number of known Lychas species in Thailand is increased to six. The species status of L. kotao Lourenço, 2020 stat. n. from Ko Tao island (Thailand) is also revalidated.

Lourenço, Wilson & Ythier, Eric. (2026). A new species of Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 from a cave in the Sai Yok National Parc in Thailand (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología.