On Pardosa schenkell (Araneae, Lycosidae) and its presence in Germany and Poland

The wolf spider Pardosa schenkeli Lessert, 1904 was since long regarded as occurring in Germany and Poland but is excluded from the recent checklist of spiders found in these countries. Re-examination of material collected in Germany and Poland, respectively, verifies its presence in both countries. Characters for distinguishing P. schenkeli and its ally P. bifasciata (C.L. Koch, 1834) are given and illustrated

Sitticus inexpectus (Araneae, Salticidae) new to Italy

In spring 1997, while "surfing" on the Internet, I came across the zoological database of "Archivio faunistico delta Laguna di Venezia". Among the species listed was Sitticus rupicola (C. L. KOCH), a species newly studied in connection with the description of the allied species Sitticus inexpectus LOGUNOV & KRONESTEDT (1997). The information in the database caught my interest because it referred to a record from an area close to the sea. While S. rupicola is confined to higher altitudes, S. inexpectus [previously confused with S. rupicola and S. caricis (WESTRING)] has been found in lowland localities, part of them close to the sea

First record of Aulonia kratochvili (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Europe

The fauna of wolf spiders is rather well-known in certain parts of the Balkan Peninsula, in others less so. While extensive collecting has been undertaken in Bulgaria (summarized in DEL TSHEV & BLAGOEV 1995), other parts, like Greece, still await to be better explored. During a short visit to Greece in 1995, two of my colleagues at the Swedish Museum of Natural History brought back a small collection of spiders. Among the spiders (captured by trapping) were numerous males of tIycosid Aulonia kratochvili DUNIN, BUCHAR et ABSOLON. This species was recently described from both sexes, collected in Azerbaijan (DUNIN et al. 1986) and also found in Turkmenia (SW Kopetdagh: sub "Aulonia sp.n." in FET 1985; MIKHAILOV 1997). Its occurrence in Greece indicates a Pontomediterranean distribution

Pardosa fulvipes (Araneae, Lycosidae) new to Slovakia

During the post-colloquium excursion of the 18th European Colloquium of Arachnology in Slovakia in July 1999, I had the opportunity to collect a small material of wolf spiders at the boundary of the Slovak Paradise National Park c. 20 km south of Poprad. Except for two common species [Pardosa palustris (UNNAEUS) and P. pullata (CLERCK)], numerous females of Pardosa fulvipes (COLLETT) were taken. An additional specimen of the latter was captured at Stara Lesna close to the High Tatras National Park. P. fulvipes was not included in the catalogue of spider species recorded from Slovakia (GAJDOS et al. 1999) though it may previously have been overlooked due to misidentification with some other species in the pullata group

Taxonomic notes on Agroeca (Araneae, Liocranidae)

Agroeca gaunitzi Tullgren, 1952 is stated here to be a junior synonym of A. proxima (O. P.-Cambridge, 1871). The illustrations of the male palp attributed to A. proxima in papers by Tullgren of 1946 and 1952 in fact show A. inopina O. P.-Cambridge, 1886. The record of A. inopina from Finland, quite outside its known distribution range, was based on a misidentification. It is argued that the type species of the genus Agroeca Westring, 1861 should be A. proxima (O. P.-Cambridge, 1871), not A. brunnea (Blackwall, 1833) as currently applied. Protagroeca Lohmander, 1944 is placed as an objective synonym of Agroeca Westring, 1861

Reproductive isolation between two populations of Aglaoctenus lagotis , a funnel-web wolf spider

Aglaoctenus lagotis (Lycosidae: Sosippinae) is a spider that, in contrast to the predominant wandering habit of the family, constructs funnel webs. The species is widely distributed throughout the Neotropics and is credited with high levels of intraspecific variation. Here, we evaluate whether reproductive isolating barriers operate between some populations of A. lagotis. We used heterotypic encounters between individuals from two distant localities: southern Uruguay (SU) and Central Argentina (CA). Additionally, we used spiders from an ntermediate locality, western Uruguay (WU), where both forms of the species overlap (SU.WU was used to describe individuals from WU reminiscent of those from SU; and CA.WU was used to describe individuals from WU reminiscent of those from CA). No copulations occurred between SU and CA individuals, whereas a single and atypical copulation occurred between SU.WU and CA.WU individuals. Attacks (only by females on males) were rare. In tests of choice based on silk cues, SU males did not prefer homotypic cues but almost did not court CA females, whereas CA males preferred homotypic cues but usually courted heterotypic females. These findings, with a previously reported temporal asynchrony between populations, suggest the occurrence of reproductive isolation between both spider forms and a speciation process favoured by the wide distribution and plasticity of the species.Fil: González Pérez, María de la Macarena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Cátedra de Diversidad Animal I; ArgentinaFil: Peretti, Alfredo Vicente. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Cátedra de Diversidad Animal I; ArgentinaFil: Costa, Fernando G.. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas "Clemente Estable"; Urugua

Comparative analysis of tissue-specific transcriptomes in the funnel-web spider Macrothele calpeiana

The funnel-web spider Macrothele calpeiana is a charismatic Mygalomorph with a great interest in basic, applied and translational research. Nevertheless, current scarcity of genomic and transcriptomic data of this species clearly limits the research in this non-model organism. To overcome this limitation, we launched the first tissue-specific enriched RNA-seq analysis in this species using a subtractive hybridization approach, with two main objectives, to characterize the specific transcriptome of the putative chemosensory appendages (palps and first pair of legs), and to provide a new set of DNA markers for further phylogenetic studies. We have characterized the set of transcripts specifically expressed in putative chemosensory tissues of this species, much of them showing features shared by chemosensory system genes. Among specific candidates, we have identified some members of the iGluR and NPC2 families. Moreover, we have demonstrated the utility of these newly generated data as molecular markers by inferring the phylogenetic position M. calpeina in the phylogenetic tree of Mygalomorphs. Our results provide novel resources for researchers interested in spider molecular biology and systematics, which can help to expand our knowledge on the evolutionary processes underlying fundamental biological questions, as species invasion or biodiversity origin and maintenance