Spiders (Araneae) of the Everglades National Park, Florida, USA

Abstract

The spider fauna of the Everglades National Park in southern Florida was surveyed over 2 widely separated time periods: 1966 to 1967 and 2008 to 2009. Samples were made in 4 of the typical Everglades habitats: sawgrass prairie, willowhead marsh, pineland, and tropical hardwood hammock, as well as several “disturbed” areas. A total of 201 spider species was identified. Twenty-three additional taxa were identified only to genus and included for general Everglades information. One species was documented as new and undescribed, and several others possibly may be new. The Everglades National Park is located at the northern border of the Neotropical ecozone and the southern border of the Nearctic ecozone. Forty-seven percent of the species were Nearctic, 37% Nearctic/Neotropical, 12% Cosmopolitan, and 3% Neotropical. The greatest number of species was collected in the hardwood hammock habitat. Life cycles of 10 common species are provided.