Letter: Description of Two Cases of Spider Bites Attributed to Loxosceles rufescens (Araneae, Sicariidae) in Albania

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  Letter: Description of Two Cases of Spider Bites Attributed to Loxosceles rufescens (Araneae, Sicariidae) in Albania Fewer than 0.5% of spider species are medically significant, with the genus  Loxosceles  responsible for most dermonecrotic envenomings. 1 , 2  In the Mediterranean,  Loxosceles rufescens  is the primary species associated with loxoscelism. 2  This synanthropic spider thrives in human dwellings, typically biting only when inadvertently provoked. 1 , 3 , 4  Its venom, containing sphingomyelinase D, triggers local inflammation and necrosis, 1 , 5  and rarer the acute localized exanthematous pustulosis. 6  Diagnosis is often challenged by initial painlessness, leading to frequent misidentification as bacterial infections. 2 , 4 , 5  These cases in Albania highlight the need for improved clinical recognition of regional spider-bite occurrences. 7 Two cases were retrospectively documented via interviews and photos. Infor...

Six new species of the orb-weaver spider genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 (Araneae, Araneidae) and a redescription of A. colubrinus Song & Zhu, 1992 from Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, Guizhou, China

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Six new species of the orb-weaver spider genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 (Araneae, Araneidae) and a redescription of A. colubrinus Song & Zhu, 1992 from Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, Guizhou, China

Abstract

Six new species of the genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 from Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve in Guizhou Province, China are described: Araneus chenjingi sp. nov. (♂♀), and A. yuboi sp. nov. (♂♀) are assigned to the A. diadematus group; A. lihaiboi sp. nov. (♂♀), A. shii sp. nov. (♂♀), A. wanghuai sp. nov. (♂♀), and A. yangchuandongi sp. nov. (♂♀) are assigned to the A. sturmi group. Araneus colubrinus Song & Zhu, 1992 is redescribed. A new synonym of Araneus colubrinus Song & Zhu, 1992 is proposed: Araneus octodentalis Song & Zhu, 1992 syn. nov.


Mi X, Wang C, Gan J (2023) Six new species of the orb-weaver spider genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 (Araneae, Araneidae) and a redescription of A. colubrinus Song & Zhu, 1992 from Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, Guizhou, China. ZooKeys 1173: 243-273. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1173.106315