L. Brian Patrick

-7 F is actually -21 C!

New Species Census 2026 Hi! This is a survey to learn more about the listeners of New Species Podcast and to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts about the direction of the podcast and its content. It should take ...

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Meet five new species discovered in 2025 A bumpy snailfish, Andean mouse opossum and ancient sea cow were just some of the many species described in 2025.

this NPR write-up includes one of our 2025 new spider species!

www.npr.org/2025/12/31/n....

Another mitogenome paper. This time, the California trap-door spider!
share.google/i1qDmGvTpl0a...

Ah, I didn't realize that clicking on the pic would reveal additional text!

What the heck is that? Any idea of the species?

Lateral view of Phycosoma lineatipes, a comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae from southern Alabama.

A cubed flat top for this southern Alabama boy.

Here's part of the TOC

And in just a couple of days later, here is the next mitogenome paper published! Several more on the way in the next few weeks!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from ultraconserved elements (UCEs) The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 has been sequenced and annotated from ultraconserved elements (UCEs). The species is endemic to South Africa and is a free-living ground-...

It has been a long process, but the first of many mitogenome papers is *finally* published! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

But, SEM?

Where's the picture?

Tonight and for an eternity to come we grieve. She was an amazing companion and family member. She is dearly missed.

Lateral view of a small dwarf spider, Walckenaeria subpallida, from Virginia.

The periscope-like head of Walckenaeria subpallida (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from Virginia, USA. #InverteFest

This ..

Herbivory in Spiders: The Importance of Pollen for Orb-Weavers Orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae) are commonly regarded as generalist insect predators but resources provided by plants such as pollen may be an important dietary supplementation. Their webs snare insec...

People don’t realize spiders can supplement their diet with pollen. Eggs and Sanders (2013) found juvenile orb-weavers get up to 38 percent from it. Meadows matter. Flowers are tiny gas pumps for murder machines. #science #arachnology🧪
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Setbacks... fixable, but still setbacks...

round opening of a spider burrow, about the size of a US nickel, with a silken hinge on the top edge, attached to a silken lid (a trapdoor).

found a trapdoor spider burrow in the desert yesterday

the spider constructs this door from silk & soil & "saliva"

bonus liverwort in the LL

Cover of "Checklist of the Flies (Diptera) in Canada" featuring two fly images, with contributors and publisher details below.

New book: A checklist to identify all known species of flies in Canada! doi.org/10.3897/ab.e...

"This checklist is a fundamental piece of work that will guide the assessment of the conservation status of those species."

@bioinfocus.bsky.social

Oof...

NCBI is down. Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but with the way things are going here in the US I worry that this is more than just a temporary glitch or system update...

Just following the examples of my heroes, including you!

Just messaged you!

I got back reads today! 92 samples with reads across 16 genera and 40 species!

My first task: check for a mitogenome in Minicosa neptuna.

Got one! 😀 That will be worked out in the next week or two for sure and I hope to get that manuscript ready to be submitted by the end of March!

Just talked to the sequencing facility and it sounds like my first round of lycosids are working out pretty well, including my new favorite spider Minicosa neptuna! I should have data tomorrow to start getting mitogenomes and to use in the phyluce pipeline to extract UCEs!

Messaged

Hello! Do you know which species of Hogna you get there? I would also be interested in Trochosa (I assume terricola?).

I sent you a message! 😀

@kaina-privet.bsky.social to be clear, this is general ngs. I hope to extract mitogenomes and ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from the assembled contigs.

Tobias emailed me. Please contact him and he will help you send specimens to me if you collect any wolf spiders, including Trochosa. 😁 Ah, yes, Kronestedt is a good idea. I will email him. Thank you!