Ground-dwelling spider assemblages were sampled by pitfall trapping in four contrasting biotopes in the Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa, situated in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot. Over two years (2006 and 2007) in two seasons (mid-summer and winter, 10 days each) 1261 spiders were collected, representing 31 families and 121 species. Twenty-five taxa were recorded from Ndumo for the first time. Spider activity densities and species richness were highest in the deciduous broadleaf woodland (BW, n = 538, S = 106), followed by Albizia adianthifolia-Vachellia tortilis woodland (AW, n = 358, S = 70), sand forest (SF, n = 188, S = 74), and Mahemane thicket (MT, n = 177, S = 53). The four most abundant species were Asemesthes ceresicola Tucker, 1923 (Gnaphosidae, 27.8%), Arctosa sp. (Lycosidae, 8.4%), Pardosa crassipalpis Purcell, 1903 (Lycosidae, 7.4%), and Stenaelurillus guttiger (Simon, 1901) (Salticidae, 5.2%). Species richness and activity densities were strongly seasonal, with sharp decreases in winter. Conservation assessments could not be carried out on a sizable proportion of the species collected, as they represent new taxa or were only represented by immatures (30.6%), but of the remainder the majority had a conservation status of Least Concern (64.5%), with very few being Data Deficient (4.1%) and a single vulnerable species being collected, Massagris natalensis Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009. However, among the new taxa not assessed there may be several Maputaland endemics.

Linyphiid webs have often been characterized as dense horizontal sheets suspended in aerial tangles. Recent observations indicate that several web traits vary considerably between species, but nearly all information comes from small samples of webs, and little attention has been given to intra-specific variation. This paper documents the intra-web and intra-specific variation in several web traits in Linyphia simplicata, and makes brief comparisons with the webs of Neriene coosa. The objective is to provide perspective for other comparisons of the web designs in linyphiid taxa that are based on small samples. Some traits were relatively uniform and did not differ between the species; others, especially some measures of the tangles above and below sheets, were more variable but nevertheless differed significantly between the species. Two traits not previously documented in linyphiid webs occurred on both species: a central area of the sheet with larger holes; and lower densities of lines near the outer edges but higher, uniform densities in the central areas of sheets. A third new trait, objects projecting through sheets, occurred only in N. coosa.

Allocosa alticeps (Mello-Leitão, 1944) inhabits coastal sandy areas in the south of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Information about the natural history and reproductive strategies of this species is extremely scarce. Allocosa senex (Mello-Leitão, 1945) and Allocosa marindia Simó, Lise, Pompozzi & Laborda 2017 are two burrowing wolf spiders from the subfamily Allocosinae which inhabit similar environments to A. alticeps. Both species show reversal in traditional sexual size dimorphism and sex roles expected in spiders. Males are larger than females and females are the wandering sex. These non-traditional patterns have been associated with the harsh coastal habitat where these two Allocosa live. Our objectives were to study nocturnal surface activity in A. alticeps, and analyse sexual dimorphism in this species. We performed nocturnal samplings to estimate surface activity and measured traits related to size, mobility, and burrowing in adults of both sexes (carapace, forelegs, and chelicerae). Females and males showed similar nocturnal surface activity. We did not find differences between the sexes in body size or other body traits, except that chelicerae were larger in males. Contrary to our expectations and, in spite of being an allocosine that inhabits coastal habitats, A. alticeps did not show reversal in mobility patterns and sexual dimorphism as described for A. senex and A. marindia. These results highlight the importance of studying A. alticeps, since they could reflect the transition to reverse SSD, for understanding the evolution of sex role reversal in the subfamily Allocosinae.

Linyphia palilis L. Koch, 1870 was mentioned in several papers based only on material identified by L. Koch from Galicia and Bukovina (parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). A revision of the type material of this species from Galicia, which is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, and the additional material in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History of the NAS of Ukraine shows that these series exclusively consist of specimens of Neriene emphana (Walckenaer, 1841). Based on the review of these specimens and analysis of the original description we consider that Linyphia palilis L. Koch, 1870 is a younger synonym of Neriene emphana. The specimen deposited in Vienna can be considered a syntype. A lectotype is designated for Koch's name. Simon (1929) misinterpreted Koch's description and applied the combination Pityohyphantes palilis to a dark morph of P. phrygianus (C. L. Koch, 1836); this is not identical to Linyphia palilis L. Koch, 1870. Therefore, Pityohyphantes palilis Simon 1929 cannot be currently recognized as a synonym of Neriene emphana owing to its questionable status as a species.

The brown scorpion Tityus bahiensis is a species of medical importance to the state of São Paulo. Citizens who encounter scorpions in their homes bring them alive to our public health vivarium. The age of the scorpions was unknown at the time of delivery, but the time was recorded as the start of their longevity in our terrarium. All scorpions were juveniles or adult when brought to us. Some were removed from the study and transferred to another facility for venom extraction and anti-venom production. For scorpions continuing in this study, handling was minimized, and no venom extraction was done. This survival time to death is considered important because dangerous scorpions are often maintained in public health vivaria for possible venom extraction. Data collection was within the time period from 2015 to 2021, with the distinguishing features of each scorpion used for identification. The survival time for males ranged from 42 and 503 days and for females 69 and 365 days. The half-life in captivity of the received scorpions was 285 (Confidence Interval: 203 to 365) days.

New faunistic and taxonomic data are provided for 27 families of Iranian spiders. Two lycosid species, Lycosa elymaisa sp. nov. (♂; Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad, southwestern Iran) and Pardosa zagrosica sp. nov. (♂♀; Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari and Hamedan, southwestern to northwestern Iran) are described as new to science, three genera (Amaurobius C. L. Koch, 1837, Cercidia Thorell, 1869, Marilynia Lehtinen, 1967) and 19 species are recorded in Iran for the first time, and 75 new provincial records are provided for 50 species. Additionally, Sahastata sinuspersica Marusik, Zamani & Mirshamsi, 2014 is recorded for the first time from Pakistan, and the Georgian record of Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer, 1841) is rejected and attributed to Neoscona spasskyi (Brignoli, 1983). Finally, an updated list of taxa omitted from the checklist of Iranian spiders (including 38 new cases) is presented, reducing the known number of spiders in Iran to 909 species.

A new genus and species of the ant-resembling jumping spider tribe Simonellini, Flurica sikimira gen. et sp. nov., from the Yungas mountain forest in the Bolivian Andes is described. Erica eugenia Peckham & Peckham, 1892 is recorded from Bolivia for the first time. Adults of both species are possibly mimics of the turtle ant Cephalotes pusillus (Klug, 1824). Juveniles of E. eugenia resemble workers of black Crematogaster ants, indicating transformational mimicry.

New cases of abnormalities in the development of the copulatory organs in several species of wolf spiders are described: three specimens with side by side duplicated epigynes, one gynandromorph, four intersexes, and one with pathologically asymmetric epigyne. The potential causes of such disorders are discussed.

A new species of the genus Tenedos O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897 belonging to the barronus group is described and illustrated based on both sexes. Tenedos barbarae sp. n. is described from Serranía del Perijá in Cesar department, Colombia. Specimens of the new species were collected during a standardized sampling in a landscape of tropical dry forest. Notes on ecology and natural history are provided. Additionally, a map on the spatial disposition of the new species in the landscape is included.