Natural history of Loxosceles chapadensis Bertani, Fukushima & Nagahama, 2010 (Araneae, Sicariidae)

Abstract

Brown recluse-spiders of the genus Loxosceles comprise 147 species and it is responsible for the most significant araneism in South America. Gaps in knowledge exist for various species, such as Loxosceles chapadensis, whose biological information is scarce and limited to its description in 2010 and a few publications that mentioned it in some way. We aim to characterize the natural history of L. chapadensis and expand its knowledge and distribution. We captured 457 specimens through active search between 2022-2024 in seven locations (six caves) in Bahia, Brazil. We marked sampling areas according to microclimatic variables. Temperature and humidity were considered environmentally homogeneous, but the spatial distribution of spiders was heterogeneous, determined by luminosity. We conclude that L. chapadensis is a spider with cave-dwelling habits, endemic to the Brazilian Caatinga environments with high-altitude xeric geomorphological and vegetational characteristics, until then, with records in the States of Bahia and Piauí. Its occurrence at places with a large tourist flow requires care in the management plan of the caves where it occurs.