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[book review:] David Penney (Ed) 2013 Spider research in the 21st century – trends and perspectives
(2013)
The latest arachnological publication from Siri Scientific Press is a substantial compendium of spiderrelated topics covering many aspects of these fascinating animals’ biology. As the title suggests, the overarching theme running throughout this work are the advances which have been made in recent years – particularly through the application of novel methods and/or technologies – as well as productive directions for future research. Following an extensive foreword by Norman Platnick, which summarises the book’s main conclusions rather well, the volume itself is divided into nine self-contained and fully referenced chapters. All have been written by acknowledged experts in their fields and all provide an excellent account of the modern literature.
An annotated catalogue of the rare mesothele spiders (Araneae: Mesothelae: Liphistiidae) held in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is presented. The museum hosts non-type specimens of nine species representing all three currently recognised genera, namely: Liphistius desultor Schiödte, 1849, L. malayanus cameroni Haupt, 1983, L. cf. thaleban Schwendinger, 1990, Heptathela kikuyai Ono, 1998, H. kimurai (Kishida, 1920), H. yanbaruensis Haupt, 1983, Ryuthela ishigakiensis Haupt, 1983, R. nishihirai (Haupt, 1979) and R. tanikawai Ono, 1997 (spec. reval.). The geographical focus of this collection is Malaysia and Japan, and most of the material was collected by the Berlin-based zoologist Joachim Haupt.
Camel spiders (Arachnida: Solifugae) are one of the arachnid groups characterised by a prosomal dorsal shield composed of three distinct elements: the pro-, meso- and metapeltidium. These are associated respectively with prosomal appendages one to four, five, and six. What is less well known, although noted in the historical literature, is that the coxae of the 4th and 5th prosomal segments (i.e. walking legs 2 and 3) of camel spiders are also separated ventrally by a distinct membranous region, which is absent between the coxae of the other legs. We suggest that this essentially ventral division of the prosoma specifically between coxae 2 and 3 is homologous with the so-called sejugal furrow (the sejugal interval sensu van der Hammen). This division constitutes a fundamental part of the body plan in acariform mites (Arachnida: Acariformes). If homologous, this sejugal furrow could represent a further potential synapomorphy for (Solifugae + Acariformes); a relationship with increasing morphological and molecular support. Alternatively, outgroup comparison with sea spiders (Pycnogonida) and certain early Palaeozoic fossils could imply that the sejugal furrow defines an older tagma, derived from a more basal grade of organisation. In this scenario the (still) divided prosoma of acariform mites and camel spiders would be plesiomorphic. This interpretation challenges the textbook arachnid character of a peltidium (or ‘carapace’) covering an undivided prosoma.
Faunistic spider collections in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: The collection of Erich Hesse
(2012)
The ‘Hesse collection’ of spiders (Araneae) and harvestmen (Opiliones) in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is documented. Biographical notes on Erich Hesse – a former arachnid curator at the museum (1921–1940) – are provided. The ‘Hesse collection’ was actually put together by other workers, and can be broadly divided into two parts. One comes from Bielinek (= Bellinchen) on the Polish side of the Oder Valley (West Pommerania); now part of the ‘Unteres Odertal’ National Park. This Bielinek material includes notable records of Heriaeus oblongus Simon, 1918 and Gibbaranea ullrichi (Hahn, 1835). The other part of the collection comes from Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Notable here are Pistius truncatus (Pallas, 1772) and Philodromus buchari Kubcová, 2004; the latter representing the first record of this species for Saxony-Anhalt.
Das Editorial informiert über einige Veränderungen, die sich bei der Herausgabe der Zeitschrift Arachnologische Mitteilungen in jüngster Zeit ergeben haben (bspw. die Online-Verfügbarkeit betreffend). Wenngleich sich der Anteil der englischsprachigen Beiträge in letzten Jahren auf ca. 50 % erhöht hat, möchte die Zeitschrift auch künftig die Möglichkeit bieten auf Deutsch zu publizieren.
Neue Nachweise der Gerandeten Wasserspinne Dolomedes plantarius in Brandenburg (Araneae: Pisauridae)
(2009)
The great raft spider, Dolomedes plantarius (Clerck, 1757), is a rare and endangered species in Germany and other European countries. Current data on its distribution and ecology are briefly reviewed. Five new (or overlooked) localities for this spider from the Spreewald-region of Brandenburg in eastern Germany are provided, together with an updated distribution map. One record, based on the authors’ own collections, is described and figured in detail, with the egg-carrying female discovered in reeds at the edge of a fairly large body of open water. Both direct and indirect protective measures for the habitats of this species in the Spreewald-region are recommended.
The first fossil cyphophthalmid harvestman (Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi) from Palaeogene (Eocene) Baltic amber is described. This is only the third fossil example of this basal harvestman lineage; the others being from the probably slightly younger Bitterfeld amber and the much older, early Cretaceous, Myanmar (Burmese) amber. Although incomplete and lacking most of the appendages, the new Baltic amber fossil can be identified as a female. The somatic characters preserved, especially spiracle morphology and the coxo-genital region, allow it to be assigned with some confidence to the extant genus Siro Latreille, 1796 (Sironidae). This fossil is formally described here as Siro balticus sp. nov. It resembles modern North American Siro species more than modern European ones, and can be distinguished principally on its relatively large size and the outline form of the body.