Thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale: novel insights and comparative analysis with a sympatric species

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  Thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale: novel insights and comparative analysis with a sympatric species Abstract Understanding thermal responses in ectotherms is key to assessing vulnerability to climate change. Tarantulas (Theraphosidae) are informative models due to their sedentary lifestyle, long life cycles, and reliance on specific microhabitats. We present the first integrative assessment of the thermal ecology of Plesiopelma longisternale , a widespread Argentine species, combining experimentally derived thermal limits and thermal preferences with species distribution models, and compare its thermal profile with the sympatric Grammostola vachoni to explore patterns of thermal niche differentiation. Plesiopelma longisternale showed a minimum thermal limit near 4 °C, a maximum near 44 °C, a thermal optimum of 29.5 °C, a narrow thermal performance breadth, and a preferred temperature of approximately 32 °C. Models integrating climatic and thermal parameters predicted...

New data on the genus Opilio Herbst, 1798 (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Russia and Kyrgyzstan

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New data on the genus Opilio Herbst, 1798 (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Russia and Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Two new species of Opilio Herbst, 1798 (Opiliones: Phalangiidae), O. kyrgyzstanicus sp. nov. from Kyrgyzstan and O. zhiguli sp. nov. from Russia, are described based on morphological characters of both sexes. Both species are diagnosed and illustrated in detail, including the structure of the penis, pedipalps, chelicerae, and body armature. The discovery of these new species indicates that the diversity of the genus in the Palaearctic remains considerably underestimated, particularly in poorly studied regions of Central Asia and the Middle Volga.

Snegovaya, N. (2026). New data on the genus Opilio Herbst, 1798 (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics, 12(03), 673–681. https://doi.org/10.48311/jibs.12.03.673