An integrative description of Euscorpius diagorasi sp. n. from Rhodes, Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae)

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  An integrative description of Euscorpius diagorasi sp. n. from Rhodes, Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) Abstract The genus  Euscorpius  Thorell, 1876 comprises a diverse and taxonomically challenging group of scorpions in the Mediterranean, with Greece representing one of its principal centers of diversity. In this study, we provide an integrative description of  Euscorpius diagorasi   sp. n. , a new species from Rhodes Island, Greece. The new species is described on the basis of adult male and female morphology and mitochondrial COI sequence data. It is a small oligotrichous species characterized by a total length of approximately 21–25 mm, pale yellow to light brown coloration with darker reddish-brown pedipalps, pectinal tooth count of 8 in the male and 7 in the females, Pv = 7–8, Pe-et = 5–6, and a distinct mitochondrial lineage. Phylogenetic analyses based on COI recovered the Rhodian specimens as a strongly supported monophyletic lineage, sister to...

Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil

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Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil


The cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) is a species that probably has tropical South American origin (Levi, 1967) but currently has a cosmopolitan distribution and is highly synanthropic (Oda & Akiyama-Oda, 2020). Parasteatoda tepidariorum is a generalist and opportunistic predator that weaves a patternless and tangled web, where it waits for and attacks prey that fall into it (Blasco-Ar6steguii & Calatayud­ Mascarell, 2023). Their diet is mainly based on insects (Nentwig, 1987), although there are also records this spider predating other arachnids and even small vertebrates. 

Special thanks to Glauco Cássio de Sousa Oliveira for providing me this full-text article. The article appears in the Newsletter of the British Arachnological Society, No. 159, Spring 2024 - Via ResearchGate

Sousa Oliveira, Glauco & Lara, Jéssica & OIiveira, Sabrina & Souza, Marcos. (2024). Record of the cob-web spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theridiidae) feeding on the scorpion Tityus serrulatus (Lutz & Mello 1922) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in urban area of Brazil. 159. 5-7.