Marshall, B. M., C. T. Strine, C. S. Fukushima, P. Cardoso, M. C. Orr, and A. C. Hughes. 2022. Searching the web builds fuller picture of arachnid trade. Communications Biology 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03374-0
Wildlife trade is a major driver of biodiversity loss, yet whilst the impacts of trade in some species are relatively well-known, some taxa, such as many invertebrates are often overlooked. Here we explore global patterns of trade in the arachnids, and detected 1,264 species from 66 families and 371 genera in trade. Trade in these groups exceeds millions of individuals, with 67% coming directly from the wild, and up to 99% of individuals in some genera. For popular taxa, such as tarantulas up to 50% are in trade, including 25% of species described since 2000. CITES only covers 30 (2%) of the species potentially traded. We mapped the percentage and number of species native to each country in trade. To enable sustainable trade, better data on species distributions and better conservation status assessments are needed. The disparity between trade data sources highlights the need to expand monitoring if impacts on wild populations are to be accurately gauged and the impacts of trade minimised. Trade in arachnids includes millions of individuals and over 1264 species, with over 70% of individuals coming from the wild.
Collected Cypraeidae and identified Assimineidae
Kym Abrams
Australia
Collected Buthidae and identified Hubbardiidae
Collected Nymphalidae and identified Cidaridae
Collected Carabidae and identified Muridae
Collected Rhinonyssidae and identified Buthidae
Collected Cricetidae and identified Vespertilionidae
Collected Scarabaeidae and identified Passalidae
Collected Staphylinidae and identified Curculionidae
Collected Vespertilionidae and identified Vespertilionidae
Collected Geophilidae
Collected Craugastoridae and identified Dactyloidae
Collected Staphylinidae and identified Staphylinidae
Tracy Audisio
Japan; United States
Collected Haplotrematidae and identified Salticidae
Collected Scarabaeidae
Collected Asteraceae and identified Pucciniaceae
Collected Erebidae and identified Pompilidae
Collected Dactyloidae and identified Dactyloidae
Collected Poaceae and identified Phoxocephalidae
Collected Formicidae
Collected Fabaceae and identified Eumenidae
Collected Pyrrhocoridae and identified Lampyridae
Collected Nitidulidae and identified Dytiscidae
Collected Phrynosomatidae and identified Colubridae
Collected Hesperiidae and identified Ardeidae
Collected Araneidae and identified Rhinocricidae
Collected Tenebrionidae
Collected Dactyloidae and identified Geraniaceae
Collected Characidae
Collected Araneidae and identified Polygonaceae
Collected Formicidae and identified Cerambycidae