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New taxonomic and faunistic data on spiders of Ecuador are provided, based on a small set of previously unstudied specimens collected at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Orellana. These specimens belong to five species in three families: Anapistula tiputiana sp. n. (♀; Symphytognathidae) and Pseudanapis yasunica sp. n. (♂; Anapidae) are described as new to science, and the hersiliids Neotama obatala Rheims & Brescovit, 2004, Ypypuera crucifera (Vellard, 1924) and Y. vittata (Simon, 1887) are newly recorded in Ecuador. Illustrations are provided for all treated species.

New taxonomic and faunistic data on spiders of Ecuador are provided, based on a small set of previously unstudied specimens collected at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Orellana. These specimens belong to five species in three families: Anapistula tiputiana sp. n. (♀; Symphytognathidae) and Pseudanapis yasunica sp. n. (♂; Anapidae) are described as new to science, and the hersiliids Neotama obatala Rheims & Brescovit, 2004, Ypypuera crucifera (Vellard, 1924) and Y. vittata (Simon, 1887) are newly recorded in Ecuador. Illustrations are provided for all treated species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new species of giant crab spider of the genus Sadala Simon, 1880 collected in Lowland Evergreen rainforests at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Amazonian Ecuador. This new species corresponds to the first record of the genus from Ecuador. Females of the new species of Sadala are similar to S. punicea and S. nanay, by having the epigyne with a median septum diamond‐shaped posteriorly. The new species is easily distinguished from S. punicea and S. nanay by having relatively straight anterior lateral margins of the median septum. This study increases to 10 the number of described species of Sadala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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En Ecuador, el género Tortopus está representado por una especie, Tortopus arenales Molineri, registrada en la provincia de Esmeraldas, región costa del Pacífico. Se describe aquí a Tortopus yasuni sp. nov. a partir de adultos de ambos sexos, para la región amazónica ecuatoriana, provincia de Orellana. La nueva especie se caracteriza por: 1) longitud del ala anterior 11-13 mm (macho) y 15-16 mm (hembra); 2) alas anteriores amarillas translúcidas, venas transversales y longitudinales pálidas, en el macho venas Sc y R1 ligeramente pigmentadas de gris hasta los 2/3 de la longitud del ala y en la hembra ligeramente pigmentadas de gris hasta el extremo apical del ala; 3) alas posteriores hialinas en el macho y en la hembra venas Sc y R1 sombreadas de gris hasta los 2/3 de la longitud del ala; 4) parastilo largo 3,3 veces la longitud de la base del pedestal y en vista lateral el parastilo alcanza 0,31 de la longitud del forceps; 5) especie amarilla clara con sombreados grises especialmente en el centro del pronoto y en el occipucio entre los ocelos, excepto alrededor del ocelo medio.

Artificial prey techniques-wherein synthetic replicas of real organisms are placed in natural habitats-are widely used to study predation in the field.We investigated the extent to which videography could provide additional information to such studies. As a part of studies on aposematism and mimicry of coral snakes (Micrurus) and their mimics, observational data from 109 artificial snake prey were collected from video-recording camera traps in three locations in the Americas (terra firme forest, Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador; premontane wet forest, Nahá Reserve, Mexico; longleaf pine forest, Southeastern Coastal Plain, North Carolina, USA). During 1,536 camera days, a total of 268 observations of 20 putative snake predator species were recorded in the vicinity of artificial prey. Predators were observed to detect artificial prey 52 times, but only 21 attacks were recorded. Mammals were the most commonly recorded group of predators near replicas (243) and were responsible for most detections (48) and attacks (20). There was no difference between avian or mammalian predators in their probability of detecting replicas nor in their probability of attacking replicas after detecting them. Bite and beak marks left on clay replicas registered a higher ratio of avian:mammalian attacks than videos registered. Approximately 61.5% of artificial prey monitored with cameras remained undetected by predators throughout the duration of the experiments. Observational data collected from videos could provide more robust inferences on the relative fitness of different prey phenotypes, predator behavior, and the relative contribution of different predator species to selection on prey. However, we estimate that the level of predator activity necessary for the benefit of additional information that videos provide to be worth their financial costs is achieved in fewer than 20% of published artificial prey studies. Although we suggest future predation studies employing artificial prey to consider using videography as a tool to inspire new, more focused inquiry, the investment in camera traps is unlikely to be worth the expense for most artificial prey studies until the cost:benefit ratio decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]