Sampling involves “at least 5 solid whacks” above a net
January 28, 2016 3:42 AM Subscribe
The Internet: giving entomologists the loudest voice for most people to ignore since John Carpenter's The Fly.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2016
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2016
That's an interesting paper. I'm in the process of wrapping up a study on spiders that live in epiphytes in the canopy, and I have often wondered if spiders continue to live in them after they fall off the tree. I never really considered pine cones as a habitat that spiders could inhabit continuously. Transients, of course are expected.
On preview: arachnologists are not entomologists
posted by dhruva at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
On preview: arachnologists are not entomologists
posted by dhruva at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
In other arachnid news - A new monster from southwest Oregon forests: Cryptomaster behemoth.
posted by misteraitch at 6:27 AM on January 28, 2016
posted by misteraitch at 6:27 AM on January 28, 2016
In other arachnid news - A new monster from southwest Oregon forests: Cryptomaster behemoth.
I'm having trouble finding anything to say how 'behemothy' it is in size -- I see "~4mm" but nothing else to describe how big it is; the macro photos don't make it any easier to determine size. The implication is that it's the size of a chihuahua, but I doubt it's that big.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2016
I'm having trouble finding anything to say how 'behemothy' it is in size -- I see "~4mm" but nothing else to describe how big it is; the macro photos don't make it any easier to determine size. The implication is that it's the size of a chihuahua, but I doubt it's that big.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2016
AzraelBrown - I think it’s only ‘behemothy’ in comparison with some other related species: in the first of those links the average body length of the male specimens they studied was 3.4 mm with a leg length of 10.6 mm.
posted by misteraitch at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by misteraitch at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
AzraelBrown - I think it’s only ‘behemothy’ in comparison with some other related species: in the first of those links the average body length of the male specimens they studied was 3.4 mm with a leg length of 10.6 mm.
This kind of relative nomenclature is often a problem. In horticulture Haworthia pumila is one of the largest of the Haworthia family despite pumila meaning dwarf in latin. The problem arose when it was reclassified from the family Aloe, which is comprised of larger plants, over to Haworthia.
Still it is in many ways better than arbitrary naming based on the discoverer's name or whims in that it can potentially be informative and/or descriptive rather than simply nominal.
posted by srboisvert at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
This kind of relative nomenclature is often a problem. In horticulture Haworthia pumila is one of the largest of the Haworthia family despite pumila meaning dwarf in latin. The problem arose when it was reclassified from the family Aloe, which is comprised of larger plants, over to Haworthia.
Still it is in many ways better than arbitrary naming based on the discoverer's name or whims in that it can potentially be informative and/or descriptive rather than simply nominal.
posted by srboisvert at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
based on the discoverer's name or whims
Whatever you do, don’t name your new species after yourself. That’s tacky.
posted by dhruva at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2016
Whatever you do, don’t name your new species after yourself. That’s tacky.
posted by dhruva at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2016
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posted by bismol at 3:44 AM on January 28, 2016