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...

Description of two new species of Surazomus Reddell & Cokendolpher, 1995 (Arachnida: Schizomida: Pedipalpi) for Northern Brazil

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Description of two new species of Surazomus Reddell & Cokendolpher, 1995 (Arachnida: Schizomida: Pedipalpi) for Northern Brazil

Abstract

Schizomida represent one of the least studied and least diverse orders of Arachnida. This study describes two new species of Surazomus for the states of Roraima (Surazomus caiubi sp. nov.) and Amazonas (Surazomus tabatinga sp. nov.). All individuals examined and described are males. Surazomus caiubi sp. nov. has a reddish-brown prosoma and brown opisthosoma, a pentagonal flagellum with a prominent posterior-median depression and posteriorly elevated posterior edges of the depressions; a fossa in the anterior region near the peduncle; two rounded, short protuberances extending from the posterolateral margins; male genitalia with pterapophyses tapered and apex curved in a posteromedian direction, and median septum with a base subtriangular and narrow apex. Surazomus tabatinga sp. nov. has a dark brown prosoma and a greenish-brown opisthosoma. The flagellum is trilobed, with the posterior lobe twice as narrow as the anterolateral lobes; the posterior-dorsal abdominal process is subquadrangular, short, and broad; the Dm1 setae area has a short, ovoid protuberance, followed by a pair of anteromedian fossae; male genitalia with pterapophyses tapered and apex curved in an anteromedian direction, median septum cylindrical. This study describes two new species, increasing the number of Surazomus species known from Brazil, with the description of a Schizomida species made for the first time for the state of Roraima.

Beirão, N.R.C., Carvalho, L.S. & Silva, I.S.S. (2026) Description of two new species of Surazomus Reddell & Cokendolpher, 1995 (Arachnida: Schizomida: Pedipalpi) for Northern Brazil. Zootaxa, 5881 (2), 243–262. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5881.2.4