Arachnologische Mitteilungen, Heft 49 (2015)
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Ein Weibchen der Springspinne Heliophanus stylifer Simon, 1878 wurde im Naturpark s'Albufera auf der Balearen-Insel Mallorca (Spanien) gefunden. Die Spezies ist neu für Europa. Außerdem wurden weitere sieben Springspinnenarten nachgewiesen, darunter mit Heliophanus apiatus, Icius hamatus und Menemerus taeniatus drei Arten erstmalig für die Balearen.
A new genus of hubbardiid schizomid, Bucinozomus gen. nov. with the single species B. hortuspalmarum spec. nov., is described on basis to two male specimens found in the "Palmengarten" greenhouse in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It clearly differs from other known genera by having a long and conical abdominal segment IX, as well as the following combination of characters: anterodorsal margin of femur IV produced at less than a 90° angle, metapeltidium divided, and pedipalps with prominent spinose setae. It differs from Trithyreus Kraepelin, 1899 by having the pedipalp trochanter with a mesal spur, leg femur IV not slender and a pedipalp tarsus with a shorter claw (half of tarsus length). Living sympatric with this new taxon were female specimens of Stenochrus portoricensis Chamberlin, 1922 and Zomus bagnallii (Jackson, 1908).
Discoveries of new species of giant scorpion (more than 14 cm in total length) are considered extremely rare. Among the largest scorpions in the world there are some species from West Africa, very popular in the pet trade and, for this reason, protected by the Washington Convention (CITES). Besides the three well-known protected species – Pandinus imperator (C. L. Koch, 1841), Pandinopsis dictator (Pocock, 1888) and Pandinus gambiensis Pocock, 1900 – a fourth giant species, Pandinus ulderigoi Rossi, 2014, was recently described from a supposedly unknown locality in the Central African Republic. Unpublished notes, just discovered, allow clarification of the exact type locality of this species. Besides newly examined material from the type locality, representative of both sexes, allows better definition of the characters of this species including its unusual trichobothrial pattern. A fifth giant species, Pandinus roeseli (Simon, 1872), recently revalidated from Pandinus imperator, is automatically included among the protected species. In light of the vulnerable status, the similar general appearance, the possibly restricted and continuous distribution with regards to the four protected species as well as the recent import suspension of P. imperator from Ghana, P. ulderigoi should be added to the Pandinus species protected by the Washington Convention.
Previous study of the setae covering the opisthosoma of ground spiders shows that the morphology of the covering setae is genus-specific. The present study pursues the description of covering setae across the whole Gnaphosidae family using SEM. A detailed morphology of the setae of ground spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) is presented. The six major types of covering setae recognized among gnaphosid spiders are squamose, plumose, lanceolate, pinnate, arborate and sicate setae. Squamose setae are characteristic for Micaria lenzi and Nauhea tapa. Plumose setae are more common in ground spiders and occur in the genera Drassodes, Haplodrassus, Anagraphis, Nodocion, Zelotes and the species Berlandina caspica, Nomisia aussereri, Minosiella intermedia, Sosticus loricatus, Leptodrassus memorialis, Intruda signata, Parasyrisca caucasica, Scopoides catharius, Echemoides tofo, Zimiromus medius, Encoptarthria echemophthalma, Apodrassodes trancas, Apopyllus silvestri, Hemicloea sundevalli, Zelanda erebus, Orodrassus assimilis, Callilepis nocturna and Synaphosus turanicus. The species Matua valida, Anzacia gemmea, Hypodrassodes maoricus, Homoeothele micans and Scotophaeus blackwalli have lanceolate setae. Spiders of the genus Gnaphosa have pinnate setae. Fedotovia uzbekistanica has arborate setae. The species Cesonia bilineata, Herpyllus propinquus, Litopyllus temporarius, Aphantaulax seminigra and Kishidaia conspicua have sicate setae. Some genera, such as Drassodes and Synaphosus, have a combination of different types of setae on their opisthosoma, whereas others, like Eilica sp., Laronius erawan, Urozelotes rusticus, have no covering setae on their opisthosoma at all. This study reveals the existence of different types of covering setae and provides a set of characteristics important for the classification and phylogenetic analysis of Gnaphosidae.
A new scorpion species, Euscorpius drenskii sp. nov., is described from the Western Rhodope Mts. in southern Bulgaria. It is characterized by an oligotrichous trichobothrial pattern, which shows a conspicuous loss of one trichobothrium in the external median patellar series (em = 3), also observed in E. carpathicus (Linnaeus, 1767) and the subgenus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein, Fet, Largiadèr & Scholl, 1999. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA marker sequences does not show any close relationship between these three groups, suggesting that the observed loss of a trichobothrium is an independent event.
The species of the genus Pseudoblothrus Beier, 1931 from Italy are revised. Two species are present in this area: P. peyerimhoffi (Simon, 1905) (Piedmont) and P. regalini Inzaghi, 1983 (Lombardy). The following synonymy is proposed: Pseudoblothrus ellingseni (Beier, 1929) is a junior subjective synonym of P. peyerimhoffi (Simon, 1905) (syn. nov.). A key to all species of the genus Pseudoblothrus is provided.
The 28th European Congress of Arachnology in Torino was attended by 225 participants (including 27 accompanying persons and 15 members of staff) from 41 countries. Beside European countries, we hosted people coming from New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, USA, Uruguay, Japan, China, Iran, Pakistan, India and Taiwan. The scientific program itself was split over four days of talks, and comprised 5 plenary talks, 81 oral presentations and 81 posters that encompassed a wide breadth of arachnological research, with 22 thematic sessions (12 for oral presentations and 10 for posters) in addition to three special symposia.
The zoological collection of the National Museum, Prague (NMP) contains spirit (juvenile) as well as dry (mostly adult) specimens of horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura). Living horseshoe crabs are of immunological importance due to clotting agents present in their hemolymph. Here we summarize basic data about the mechanism of the immune system of these marine animals and its use in practice – the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate test – including the laboratory assays and handling with the animals. In the NMP collection, 82 specimens (16 dry and 66 spirit) of all four currently recognised living species of horseshoe crabs are present. They were collected in Indonesia, USA and Vietnam in 1872–1998; Limulus polyphemus from the USA is the most numerous species in the NMP. The collection contains no type specimens but three historical mounted ontogenetic series are present. The largest part of the horseshoe crab collection is 55 spirit specimens from the collection of Václav Frič (1839–1916) whose preparations were intended mostly for educational purposes.