The genus Zelurus Hahn, 1826, in Brazilian caves: description of new species and comments on the potential distribution of the genus in South America

Abstract

A survey on species of the genus Zelurus Hahn, 1826 (Reduviidae) occurring in Brazilian caves is provided. Zelurus tambejua sp. n. and Zelurus gerevatinga sp. n. collected from caves in Brazil are described. Comments about the current and potential distribution of the genus as a whole and of species of Zelurus found in caves for South America are also provided.

Climate change may drive cave spiders to extinction

“…Indeed, this working hypothesis provides a stimulating starting point for the ecological modeling of hypogean ecosystems. In spite of that, correlative distribution modelling techniques have been rarely -and only recently -applied to these particular biological systems (Bryson et al 2014, Naranjo et al 2014, Fišer et al 2015, Mammola et al 2015a, Soto-Centeno et al 2015, Christman et al 2016, Cooper-Bohannon et al 2016, Ferreira et al 2016, Sánchez-Fernández et al 2016.…”

A new species of Zelurus Hahn, 1826 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Reduviinae), with taxonomical notes on three other related species of the genus

“…Images were edited using Adobe Photoshop CS6. General morphological terminology mainly follows general current works on Reduviidae (e.g., Schuh and Weirauch 2020) and Zelurus (e.g., Ferreira et al 2016;Oliveira et al 2021). In relation to the genitalia terms, in general, Lent and Wygodzinsky (1979) is followed.…”

“…Reduviinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) currently includes 14 Neotropical genera, among which Zelurus Hahn, 1826 is the largest genus, with approximately 130 species and some subspecies (Gil-Santana et al 2015;Ferreira et al 2016), almost all distributed in the Neotropics (Maldonado 1990). The revision of Zelurus by Costa Lima (1940) (as Spiniger Burmeister, 1835) is outdated because of numerous subsequent taxonomic changes, including the description of many new species in 19 subsequent papers.…”

“…The revision of Zelurus by Costa Lima (1940) (as Spiniger Burmeister, 1835) is outdated because of numerous subsequent taxonomic changes, including the description of many new species in 19 subsequent papers. The latter were exhaustively listed by Ferreira et al (2016), who also described two more species (Oliveira et al 2021).…”

Notes on the predation of an assassin bug by a spider in a Neotropical cave

“…Zelurus and Enoploctenus are voracious predators with a wide distribution in caves and epigean environment of Brazilian territory (Pinto-da-Rocha 1995; Pellegatti- Franco 2004;Ferreira et al 2016). Both species have a similar diet, eating a wide variety of invertebrates, such as crickets, cockroaches, scorpions, beetles, velvet worms, wasps, harvestmen and pseudoscorpions (Pellegatti-Franco 2004;Willemart and Pellegatti-Franco 2006;Fischer et al 2006;Franco 2006;Franco and Monge-Nájera 2016;Grossi et al 2012;Lira et al 2016;Stevenson and Stohlgren 2015;Westcott et al 2016).…”