(Press-News.org) A team of researchers from the University of the Free State in South Africa (René Fourie and Charles Haddad) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium (Rudy Jocqué) discovered very poorly known purse-web spiders of the genus Calommata in Africa. Four of the species described are new to science. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
What is really unique about purse-web spiders is that, in contrast to trapdoor spiders, they do not construct a structure to close the burrow. Instead, they build a purse-shaped web of dense silk that covers a chamber in which the spider waits for wandering prey to step on the web, before impaling it from beneath with its exceptionally long fangs.
Little is known on the biology of these small spiders as they are extremely difficult to locate in nature. The burrows of the African species have never been photographed, and the first ever photograph of a live African Calommata male, captured in a pitfall trap, was taken only last year by Ian Engelbrecht. The spider shown on the photo (Calommata transvaalica male) is only 6.3 mm in length.
"While Calommata spiders have been collected elsewhere in Africa throughout the last century, albeit on rare occasions, our study was prompted by the recent rediscovery of these spiders in South Africa, nearly eight decades since the last specimen was collected here in 1923. Currently six African species are recognised, with an additional six species from East Asia and Israel." the author Charles Haddad said.
The new discovery is expected to shed light on the evolutionary history of these spiders, known from two distant geographical regions, and to draw attention to the urgent need for their conservation. These spiders are mostly threatened by habitat loss and urbanization.
INFORMATION:
link to the article itself on ZooKeys' website: http://www.pensoft.net/journal_home_page.php?journal_id=1&page=article&SESID=17c892de4ca0b45365e617416fa35cf3&type=show&article_id=745
Mysterious purse-web spiders rediscovered and photographed in South Africa
2011-05-18
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Patent-Pending Valera(TM), by VaNovo, Receives The World's First USDA Organic Certification For Female Lubricants and Moisturizers
2011-05-18
VaNovo, of MyValera.com, announced today their patent-pending product, Valera, received a USDA Organic Certification, making it the only female lubricant and moisturizer in the World to have a USDA Certified Organic seal of approval.
According to USDA.org, The USDA Organic seal assures consumers of the quality and integrity of organic products. Organic-certified operations must have an organic system plan and records that verify compliance with that plan. Operators are inspected annually in addition there are random checks to assure standards are being met. Organic-certified ...
Social network helps in discovery of a species of plant lice for the first time in Europe
2011-05-18
Spanish researchers from the University of Leon (Nicolás Pérez Hidalgo and M. Pilar Mier Durante) have discovered the plant lice Schizaphis piricola (Matsumura) in Madrid, Spain from a photography displayed on a social network platform: "Biodiversidad Virtual" (http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/) (Ángel Umaran). The results have been published recently in the open access journal ZooKeys and are available for free download.
"This discovery is yet another example of how social networks play an important role in our knowledge of biodiversity and the detection and/or monitoring ...
'Blueprint' for blocking MMP may unlock new treatments for deadly blood infection
2011-05-18
Researchers studying the life threatening infectious disease sepsis have discovered how the infection can lead to a fatal inflammatory response through blood vessel cells. The research, which is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, focuses on blocking crucial Matrix Metalloprotease enzymes (MMP) which activate the response.
Sepsis, and the associated systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), is a deadly condition caused by an infection of the blood which leads to whole-body inflammation. The condition is a major cause of death in intensive care wards worldwide ...
If families are price sensitive then they will be so regardless of the product
2011-05-18
Do we buy things because of their attributes, their price, or out of brand loyalty? This was one of the questions asked by researchers from the University of Seville (US), who studied families' behaviour in putting together their shopping basket. They did this by studying their consumption patterns for ground coffee and tomato puree.
"We wanted to know whether there was any similarity in families' behaviour, regardless of the product being bought, and we found that there were certain aspects, such as price sensitivity and brand preference, which could, with a certain ...
Gourmet Mac and Cheese Bar Debuts at The Eatery
2011-05-18
If the idea of homemade macaroni and cheese evokes happy memories and makes your tummy growl, you will want to be at The Eatery on Thursday. Co-owners, Don and Cindy Gifford are inviting guests to belly up to their family restaurant's new gourmet mac and cheese bar that features an array of delicious ingredients and an offer to "brown it on top" tableside.
Fans of the comfort food dish will be able to pile on the pasta. Add a favorite grated cheese (cheddar, American, or parmesan). Pick a meat (Virginia baked ham, crumpled bacon, smoked sausage or The Eatery's ...
Patients who see preferred doctor less likely to go for emergency hospital admission
2011-05-18
A new study led by the University of Leicester has concluded that being able to see the GP of your choice in a doctor's surgery helps to reduce emergency hospital admissions.
The findings by researchers in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester revealed a correlation between patients being able to see a preferred GP and emergency hospital admissions.
The research, published in Emergency Medical Journal, was led by Dr John Bankart, a research fellow in medical statistics at the University. The research was funded by the NHS.
Dr Bankart said: ...
Better passwords get with the beat
2011-05-18
No password is 100% secure. There are always ways and means for those with malicious intent to hack, crack or socially engineer access to a password. Indeed, there are more and more websites and databases compromised on a seemingly daily basis. A new approach to verifying passwords that also takes into account the speed with which a user types in their login and the gaps between characters would render a stolen password useless.
Writing in the International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions computer scientists from Beirut explain the shortcomings ...
Researchers develop hardware encryption for new computer memory technology
2011-05-18
Security concerns are one of the key obstacles to the adoption of new non-volatile main memory (NVMM) technology in next-generation computers, which would improve computer start times and boost memory capacity. But now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new encryption hardware for use with NVMM to protect personal information and other data.
NVMM technologies, such as phase-change memory, hold great promise to replace conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in the main memory of computers. NVMM would allow computers to start instantly, ...
Abortions generate $95 million a year for Polish doctors as women use illegal private sector
2011-05-18
Amsterdam, 17 May, 2011 - New analysis published by the UK journal Reproductive Health Matters shows that the criminalisation of abortion in Poland has led to the development of a vast illegal private sector with no controls on price, quality of care or accountability. Since abortion became illegal in the late 1980s the number of abortions carried out in hospitals has fallen by 99%. The private trade in abortions is, however, flourishing, with abortion providers advertising openly in newspapers.
Women have been the biggest losers during this push of abortion provision ...
EMAS publishes position statement about the post-reproductive health of women
2011-05-18
Amsterdam, 17 May 2011 - Elsevier announced the publication of an important position statement from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the journal Maturitas (http://www.maturitas.org/) on managing menopausal women with a personal or family history of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The statement includes summary recommendations as a quick aid for the busy clinician.
"The expanding ageing female population means that clinicians increasingly have to deal with post-reproductive health problems," said Professor Serge Rozenberg, President of EMAS. "EMAS ...