Environmental factors determining the diversity of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in arid, high-altitude environments in Northwestern Argentina.

Factors influencing the diversity of tenebrionid beetles in arid, high-altitude environments in the northwest of Argentina are little-known. Using pitfall traps and suction sampling in 30 sites, we collected these beetles in Altos Andes (AA) and Puna (PU) ecoregions and evaluated how local and regional factors influenced their assemblages. During each sampling date, we registered variables related to climate, vegetation, and soil in each sampling site.

Postmortem Interval Estimation and Validation Through a Comparative Study of South American Flies Reared in the Field Versus Laboratory Conditions.

Studies under constant temperatures are the most common to estimate the Postmortem Interval (PMI). It is imperative that forensic sciences have data from studies carried out in the field. Therefore, this work aims to: (1) evaluate the parameters (weight, length, development time) associated with the life cycles of Lucilia ochricornis (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Lucilia purpurascens (Walker) under experimental conditions in the field considering fluctuating temperatures, and (2) compare these results with those known and published by the same authors for cultures realized in the laboratory under constant temperatures; which will permit us to contrast the most widely used existing methodologies for forensic application in estimating the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin).

Estimation of the Postmortem Interval Through the Use of Development Time of Two South American Species of Forensic Importance of the Genus Lucilia (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Obtaining the specific development time of each species of forensic interest is crucial for the estimation of an accurate and reliable Minimum Postmortem Interval (PMImin). In Argentina, Lucilia ochricornis (Wiedemann) and Lucilia purpurascens (Walker) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were masked under the name Lucilia cluvia (Walker) for a long time still in forensic expertise. For this reason, the objective of this work is to deepen the study of the development time of these species and utilize this relevant information in the generation of different associated methods that can be used in forensics to estimate the PMI.

Contributions to the Estimation of the Postmortem Interval Through the Length and Body Weight of Two Indigenous Species of South America: Lucilia ochricornis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Lucilia purpurascens.

The early arrival and colonization of species belonging to the family Calliphoridae (Insecta: Diptera) on a corpse represent one of the most reliable means of estimating minimum postmortem interval (PMImin). However, information on the development and life cycles of some Argentine species in this family is not complete. The objective of this work was to contribute new information regarding the larval body size of neotropical species that allow, through the construction of forensic methods, the estimation of a more precise and specific PMImin.

Growing Industries, Growing Invasions? The Case of the Argentine Ant in Vineyards of Northern Argentina.

The invasive Argentine ant causes ecological and economic damage worldwide. In 2011, this species was reported in vineyards of Cafayate, a wine-producing town in the Andes, Argentina. While the local xeric climate is unsuitable for Argentine ants, populations could establish in association with vineyards where human activity and irrigation facilitate propagule introduction and survival.

Changes of arthropod diversity across an altitudinal ecoregional zonation in Northwestern Argentina.

This study examined arthropod community patterns over an altitudinal ecoregional zonation that extended through three ecoregions (Yungas, Monte de Sierras y Bolsones, and Puna) and two ecotones (Yungas-Monte and Prepuna) of Northwestern Argentina (altitudinal range of 2,500 m), and evaluated the abiotic and biotic factors and the geographical distance that could influence them. Pitfall trap and suction samples were taken seasonally in 15 sampling sites (1,500-4,000 m a.s.

Factors that influence the beta-diversity of spider communities in northwestern Argentinean Grasslands.

Beta-diversity, defined as spatial replacement in species composition, is crucial to the understanding of how local communities assemble. These changes can be driven by environmental or geographic factors (such as geographic distance), or a combination of the two. Spiders have been shown to be good indicators of environmental quality.

New species and distribution records of selenopid spiders of the genus Hovops Benoit in Madagascar (Araneae, Selenopidae).

Hovops Benoit is a heterogeneous genus of selenopid spiders that was prior to this study represented by seven species that are endemic to Madagascar. Here, we describe four new species: H. antakarana sp.

A new solifugae species of Mummucina Roewer, 1934 (Solifugae, Mummuciidae) from the Northwest of Argentina.

A new species of Mummuciidae, Mummucina puna sp. nov. (male and female) from Northwest Puna eco-region of Salta province, Argentina, is described and illustrated.

Do spider diversity and assemblages change in different contiguous habitats? A case study in the protected habitats of the humid chaco ecoregion, northeast Argentina.

Spiders are a megadiverse group that can be useful indicators of the overall species richness and health of biotic communities. The spider diversity in subtropical forests of the Neotropical region are not yet well known, especially in Argentinean subtropical forests where systematic fieldwork has not been done until recently. The Great Chaco is very important as the unique dry subtropical forest of the earth, but it is suffering increasing degradation by the advance of agriculture.

The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne.

Megarachne servinei from the Permo-Carboniferous Bajo de Véliz Formation of San Luis Province, Argentina (32 degrees 17'S, 65 degrees 25'E), was described as a giant mygalomorph spider ('tarantula') and, with its body length of 339mm, the largest known spider ever to have lived on Earth. Its identification as a spider was based on interpretations of the shape of the carapace, the position of the eye tubercle, the anterior protrusion of the carapace as a pair of chelicerae, and the posterior circular structure as the abdomen. X-radiography revealed possible morphology hidden in the matrix: cheliceral fangs, sternum, labium and coxae, and so a reconstruction of Megarachne as a giant spider was presented.