First Description of the Male of Zelotes sindi Caporiacco, 1934 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) With Its Phylogenetic Placement

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  First Description of the Male of Zelotes sindi Caporiacco, 1934 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) With Its Phylogenetic Placement Abstract The male of Zelotes sindi Caporiacco, 1934, previously unknown to science, is documented for the first time based on specimens collected from the Kashmir Himalayas, India. Detailed description and illustrations of the habitus and the palp are provided. Genomic DNA was extracted from a spider leg, and the barcode sequence is available in GenBank under the accession number PQ763483 and the Barcode Index Number BOLD: AGP6100 in Barcode of Life Data Systems. Phylogenetic analysis supported its genetic distinctiveness and was in congruence with current morphological identification. Zehbi, N., Yousuf, M., & Ganai, B.A. (2026). First Description of the Male of <i>Zelotes sindi</i> Caporiacco, 1934 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) With Its Phylogenetic Placement. HEXAPODA , 23–29. https://doi.org/10.55446/hexa.2026.707

The Phenotypic Plasticity of Animal Venoms

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The Phenotypic Plasticity of Animal Venoms

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity mediates organismal responses to environmental variation and plays an important role in ecological adaptation. Because animal venoms are adaptations that interact directly with the external environment, it seems reasonable to expect that phenotypic plasticity could play a vital role in fine-tuning venoms to changing ecological circumstances. Yet, at first glance, little seems to be known about venom plasticity. A 2017 benchmark paper on scorpions claimed to have found the first evidence of adaptive plasticity in venom composition, but since then no studies that cite this paper have reported other convincing cases of venom plasticity. Adaptive venom plasticity is actually more widespread and more widely studied than is generally recognized. I will argue that this apparent lack of awareness results largely from the historical lack of an integrative venom concept, which has produced a literature that is fractured along taxonomic fault lines and different functional categories of venom. Here I synthesize the disconnected literature on venom plasticity to reveal that our knowledge is both deeper and broader than commonly appreciated. I underline the importance of using the phrase “venom plasticity” only for cases of nongenetic, environmentally induced intraspecific venom variation.

Jenner, R. A. (2026). The Phenotypic Plasticity of Animal Venoms. Toxins, 18(11), 478. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins18110478