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

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  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...

The development of the Taipan Antivenom – An Australian story from Far North Queensland

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The development of the Taipan Antivenom – An Australian story from Far North Queensland

Abstract

The development of the taipan antivenom in Australia is a unique story, centred in Far North Queensland. It is infused with idealism and heroism. The taipan is one of the world’s deadliest snakes. A live specimen of the coastal taipan was not captured until 1950, and the antivenom only became available in 1955. Until then a bite from the coastal taipan was universally fatal. Kevin Budden a snake enthusiast was bitten in the process of capturing the specimen. Budden extracted a promise from those around him that the snake would not be killed but be sent to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne for milking. From this courageous act, the antivenom was developed and many lives subsequently saved. The first use of the taipan antivenom was on a boy in Cairns. He survived and grew up to become an anaesthetist.

Grace RF. The development of the Taipan Antivenom – An Australian story from Far North Queensland. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. 2026;0(0). doi:10.1177/0310057X261486046