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Two novel species of Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1895 are described from the north-western and central-western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes mountain range in Ecuador. The new species are easily differentiated from other congeners of Psalmopoeus by spermathecae and male palpal bulb morphology and a comparatively distant distribution to the type localities of the geographically nearest known congeners. The diagnosis of P. ecclesiasticus Pocock, 1093 is revised and updated, considering the novel species and observations on spermatheca of this species. Likewise, an evaluation is provided for the new species in terms of conservation due to the various threats impacting ecosystems and ecosystem services of their type localities. Finally, the importance of theraphosid spiders in Ecuador and South America and their possible conservation requirements are discussed and assessed.

The type material of Xenesthis colombiana Simon, 1891, X. immanis Ausserer, 1875, and X. monstrosa Pocock, 1903, are redescribed, with additional specimens of X. colombiana recorded. A neotype is designated for Xenesthis intermedia Schiapelli and Gerschman, 1945, as the holotype is lost; the female is redescribed, and the male is described for the first time. A new species, Xenesthis avanzadora sp. nov., is described from Venezuela based on a holotype male.

Three new species of Cymbiapophysa Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 are described from south, central, and north-western Ecuador, showing the wide range of distribution that this genus has in Ecuador and its biogeographical provinces. These three new species are easily differentiated from other congeners based on keel morphology of the male palpal bulb. Supplementary information about the locality of C. magna Sherwood, Gabriel, Brescovit & Lucas, 2021 is provided, alongside additional data on morphology and some commentaries about the general distribution and biogeography of Cymbiapophysa. Additionally, a taxonomic key for males of Cymbiapophysa species is presented, based on the palpal bulb morphology.

We present the first record of Holothele longipes (L. Koch, 1875) (Araneae, Theraphosidae) from the Republic of Ecuador, based on a male specimen collected near Puerto Misahuallí, province of Napo, in the north-eastern foothills of the Andes, upper River Napo basin. This new record extends the geographic range of H. longipes by approximately 554 km west of the nearest previously known locality, on the River Momón, department of Loreto, Peru. Our new record also represents the first time a species of the theraphosid subfamily Ischnocolinae has been found in Ecuador.

Abstract 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.

We report the first recorded case of partial erythrism in a frog belonging to the family Dendrobatidae, Mindo Poison Frog Epipedobates darwinwallacei Cisneros-Heredia and Yánez-Muñoz, 2010. In February 2019, we found an individual in the valley of Mindo, province of Pichincha, Ecuador showing dorsal surfaces uniformly orange, throat and posterior surfaces of legs black, and ventral surfaces yellow. Despite the atypic colouration, its general morphology coincides with E. darwinwallacei, and individuals with typical colouration for the species were abundant syntopically. We include photographs comparing the erythristic individual and a typical colouration frog from the same area. We provide a brief review of chromatic atypic colourations reported in Dendrobatoidea.