Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens

  Two new arthropod toxins purified from the venom of the Mexican scorpion Centruroides nigrescens Abstract The venom of the slender black scorpion Centruroides nigrescens , from the State of Guerrero México, was fractionated by Sephadex G–50 gel filtration, followed by carboxymethyl cellulose ion separation and high–performance liquid chromatography, permitting to obtain two new peptides toxic to arthropods. The estimate LD 50 of the soluble venom for the insect Acheta domesticus was 11.1 μg/g body weight, and for the arthropod Armadillidium vulgare was 61.1 μg body weight . The amino acid sequence of toxin Cnige1 (toxic to A. domesticus and A. vulgare ) contains 65 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7273.37 mass units, whereas toxin Cnige2, toxic to A. domesticus , contains 68 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 7548.81 units. Both peptides are well packed, containing 8 cysteines, which in the native venoms are forming 4 disulfide bridges each. The amino acid sequences f...

New taxonomic and faunistic data on spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Iraqi Kurdistan, with an updated regional checklist

 

New taxonomic and faunistic data on spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Iraqi Kurdistan, with an updated regional checklist

Abstract

Based on material collected in the Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, and Halabja governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan, new data on the spider fauna of this region are presented. Two species, Alopecosa qandilica Zamani, sp. nov. (♂; Lycosidae) and Cheiracanthium kurdistanicum Zamani, sp. nov. (♂♀; Cheiracanthiidae), are described as new to science. A new combination, Dipoenoides schwendingeri (Zamani & Marusik, 2021) comb. nov. (ex Euryopis Menge, 1868; Theridiidae), is established, and a specimen most likely representing the previously unknown male of this species is described. Furthermore, two families, 22 genera, and 32 species are recorded from Iraqi Kurdistan for the first time. Of these, 10 genera and 27 species are also newly recorded from Iraq. An updated checklist of the spider species known from the Kurdistan Region is provided.

Zamani, A. & Khudhur, F.A. (2026) New taxonomic and faunistic data on spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Iraqi Kurdistan, with an updated regional checklist. Zootaxa, 5878 (3), 366–388. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5878.3.3