The fauna of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) in agricultural landscapes of the Moscow area and the Kuban Plain

Abstract

Six years of collecting in agricultural landscapes of the Moscow area and the Kuban Plain (Krasnodar Territory) revealed 286 species of spiders from 146 genera of 20 families. Two species, Clubiona pseudoneglecta Wund. and Palliduphantes insignis O.P.-C. are recorded for the Russian fauna for the first time, and 20 species are new to Moscow Province. Linyphiidae is the most species-rich family comprising about half of the species found in Moscow Province and about a quarter of those found in Krasnodar Territory. The species are classified into 13 arealogical groups. The bulk of the fauna is formed by the widespread, mostly Eurasian and Holarctic species. The spider fauna of Krasnodar Territory has smaller fractions of the Holarctic and Euro-Siberian species and larger fractions of the Palaearctic and Euro-Mediterranean species, as compared to the Moscow fauna. In general, the faunas of both the regions studied may be classified as European. The spider fauna of agrocenoses of Moscow Province is more similar to the faunas of European regions situated at the same latitude than to the fauna of Krasnodar Territory (the Kuban Plain).