Spider Fauna Research Articles

Soutpansberg Mountain: a spider hotspot in the Limpopo Province of South Africa (Arachnida, Araneae)

The Soutpansberg Mountain (SM) range in the northern part of the Limpopo Province within the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, is a refuge for high diversity of organisms due to its geological history and location. As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), the spider diversity of the Soutpansberg Mountain was determined over 27 years: 58 families, 293 genera, and 585 species were recorded. The Salticidae with 85 species, followed by Thomisidae (81 species), Araneidae, and Gnaphosidae, with 45 species each, are the most species-rich, while 11 families are represented by single species. Global distributions, endemicity, and conservation assessment are provided for each species using IUCN criteria. Most species (516, 88.1%) are widely distributed with no known threats and are of Least Concern, whereas eight species (1.4%) are of special concern. Of these, five species are Rare and one each is Critically Rare, Vulnerable, and Near Threatened. Twenty-five new species have been described from the SM since 1997, but 17 species (2.9%) are still Data Deficient, and 44 species were not evaluated due to unresolved taxonomy. The SM represents a spider biodiversity hotspot in the Limpopo Province, representing 25.4% of the total spider fauna of South Africa and 64.3% of the known spider fauna of the Limpopo Province.

The Impact of Plant Diversity on Spider Populations in a Tropical Butterfly Conservatory, Tiruchirappalli, South India

Spiders, as crucial predators and biodiversity indicators, significantly influence ecosystem health. This study investigates the intricate relationship between plant diversity and spider communities within distinct habitats of the Tropical Butterfly Conservatory, Tiruchirappalli, India. By classifying spiders based on their hunting strategies, we aim to understand their ecological roles. This research establishes a baseline for the spider fauna within the conservatory, emphasizing the impact of plant life on spider diversity and distribution. Our findings contribute to a comprehensive evaluation of the ecological importance of spiders in this unique ecosystem, providing valuable insights for future conservation and management efforts. By unravelling the complex interplay between plants and spiders, this study underscores the necessity of preserving plant diversity to sustain a robust and balanced spider community.

Spider (Araneae: Araneomorphae) diversity in Annaba Province, Northeastern Algeria

Spiders, as predatory arthropods, play essential roles in ecosystem equilibrium and serve as bioindicators. To contribute to the understanding of spider diversity in northeast Algeria (Annaba province), a survey of spider fauna was conducted in both forest and urban sites over two consecutive years using the "hand collecting" method. A total of 879 adult spiders (681 females and 198 males) were identified, representing 25 families and 67 species. The Salticid Plexippus paykulli (Audouin, 1826) was the most abundant species, with 127 specimens collected. The most abundant families were Salticidae and Araneidae, with counts of 171 and 139 individuals, respectively. The Shannon-Weaver index varied from 2.17 to 3.68 bits across the different sites, while evenness values ranged from 0.60 to 0.75. This study significantly expanded the known spider species in Annaba province from 96 to 138.

Study of Insect Fauna and Spiders Prevailing in Lovely Professional University Research Farm, Punjab

Background: The diverse insect fauna harboring in every corner of the agroecosystem plays a crucial role in ecological balance. The insect pest feeding on various crops which then it is preyed upon by diverse predators establishing an optimum food chain. With respect to the host plant interaction, it is of paramount importance to survey and identify the species prevailing the region and having the potential of causing a havoc to the host plant so as to initiate an effective pest management tactics. This research focuses on the species diversity of insect pest as well as biological control agents in the various crop ecosystem Methods: Sampling of the insects and spider fauna were studied for two years, 2022 and 2023. Samplings were conducted in LPU research farm using three sampling techniques such as yellow sticky trap, sweeping net, pheromone lures. Following sampling of the insects and spiders species diversity was assessed using various indices such as shannon weiner indec, pielous index, simpsons index, margalefs index, Brillouins index and berger parker index Result: 913 insects from 56 species and eight orders-Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthopteraand Thysanoptera-as well as 9 species of spiders were recorded in the current study. Hemiptera, Lepidopteraand Coleoptera were the orders with the highest species abundance, while Hymenoptera was the least. Margalef’s richness index ranged from 0.26-2.6 and 0.21-2.72 respectively, evenness ranged between 0.06-0.20 and 0.08-0.22 and the diversity index for the first and second year, as indicated by the Shannon-Weiner index, varied from 0.11-0.30 and 0.14-0.34, respectively. In order to develop a strategy framework for monitoring insect biodiversity, which depends on a number of factors, it is necessary to analyze and document insect diversity.

A contribution to the Slovenian spider fauna – V

The present study discusses and reports on 29 spider species new to Slovenian fauna, specifically: Larinioides patagiatus, Cyrtarachne ixoides, Pritha nana, Marinarozelotes adriaticus, Micaria micans, Scotophaeus blackwalli, Zelotes similis, Agyneta orites, Donacochara speciosa, Lasiargus hirsutus, Trichoncus sordidus, Walckenaeria vigilax, Alopecosa taeniata, Pardosa oreophila, Pardosa sordidata, Pardosa paludicola, Pardosa sphagnicola, Xerolycosa miniata, Mimetus laevigatus, Philodromus laricium, Philodromus vagulus, Attulus rupicola, Marpissa radiata, Micrommata ligurina, Euryopis quinqueguttata, Parasteatoda tabulata, Phoroncidia paradoxa, Rhomphaea rostrata, and Robertus mediterraneus.

The First Record of Dysdera armenica Charitonov, 1956 (Araneae: Dysderidae) in Azerbaijan

Dysdera armenica Charitonov, 1956 previously known from Armenia and Georgia, is newly recorded for the spider fauna of Azerbaijan. A redescription of the male along with photographs of its palp are provided.

Spider Diversity in Different Agro-Ecosystems of Kodagu District of Western Ghats (A Preliminary Checklist)

Spiders are the most diverse of all arachnids and omnipresent in their distribution, both in natural and man-made environments. The study was conducted in the period of January 2022 to January 2024 at different agroecosystems (coffee plantation, pepper, cardamom etc) in Kodagu district of Western Ghats, Karnataka. A total of 100 species belonging to 79 genera and 17 families were recorded. Among the families, Araneidae (17 genera, 28 species) and Salticidae (20 genera, 26 species) were abundant. Followed by Thomisidae (9 genera, 10 species) and Theridiidae (7 genera, 9 species). Tetragnathidae, Sparassidae and Oxyopidae had 4 genera and 5 species each. The other families Clubonidae, Corinnidae, Theraphosidae, Lycosidae, Hersilidae, Philodromidae, Uloboridae, Linyphiidae, Lamiacae, Pholcidae, Ctenidae, Gnaphosidae had around 1-2 genera and 1-3 species. This study awaits an intensive and an extensive survey to record a near complete spider fauna.

Discovery of presumably introduced spiders, Oedignathascrobiculata Thorell, 1881 (Araneae, Liocranidae) and Boagriusqiong Lin & Li, 2022 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) on Chichi-jima Island, the Ogasawara Islands, Japan.

The spider fauna of the Ogasawara Islands, oceanic islands located 1,000 km south of mainland Japan was comprehensively examined by the National Museum of Nature and Science in 2011, which revealed that approximately 70% of the spider fauna was composed of non-native species. Following the preceding study, however, only descriptions of several new species have been added and no major updates have been made for the overall spider fauna of the Islands. The faunistic survey of spiders conducted on Chichi-jima Island, the largest island in the Ogasawara Islands in 2023 revealed the presence of two ground-dwelling spider species, Oedignathascrobiculata Thorell, 1881 (Araneae, Liocranidae) and Boagriusqiong Lin & Li, 2022 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) on the Island. This represents the first record of the two species from Japan, the first record of palpimaid spiders from Japan and the initial documentation of liocranid spiders in the Ogasawara Islands.

The spider fauna of Danish coastal dune habitats revisited after 25 years: evidence of faunistic impoverishment

Arthropod faunas have become impoverished in recent years in abundance as well as in diversity, but so far little evidence exists concerning spiders. In 2022, we repeated pitfall trap collections of spider assemblages completed 25 years previously in coastal dune habitats of the Hanstholm Reserve of National Park Thy, Denmark. Traps were placed approximately at the same spots, i.e. the habitats (white dune, grey dune, dry dune heathland, wet dune heathland, low pine plantation) were represented approximately as before. Contrary to most previous reports of insect decline, we found only weak evidence of reduction in abundance, but strong indications of reductions in faunistic value based on changes in ecological traits. Within the same period of spring and with the same number of traps, we collected 12% fewer spider individuals and 13% fewer species; rarefaction indicated that the lowered species richness was real. Species diversity had decreased and dominance increased. Changes in indices of ecological traits showed that the fauna had changed into decreased contribution of habitat specialists and species of restricted Danish distribution; the proportion of aeronauts had increased; the average body size had decreased. Indices of assemblage microclimatic niche positions and niche widths showed increased representation of shade and humidity loving species. Most of these changes were repeated in each of the habitats. Finally, we found evidence of a phenological shift towards activity earlier in spring in some species.Implications for insect conservationWe discuss possible management measures to counteract the observed trend towards reduced faunistic value.

Summary of our present knowledge of the spider communities of the Galápagos archipelago. First analysis of the spider communities of the islands Santa Cruz and Isabela

A synthesis is given of 30 years of galapagoan spider fauna research, including an historical overview of spider sampling in the archipelago. A total of 11,437 specimens originating from 688 sampling localities are analyzed. In total 175 spider species are reported of which 152 could be identified or were described as new. The remaining 23 species could only be identified to morpho-species level and they may be new to science and thus endemic. Two basic conclusions could be made from this first analysis of the existing data. 1° Single islands or island groups can be characterized by a specific spider community, and 2° the well-differentiated climax vegetation zones of Isla Santa Cruz can also be characterized by a specific spider community.

Dispersal limitation shapes distance‐decay patterns of European spiders at the continental scale

AbstractAimTo assess the relative relevance of dispersal limitation and species sorting as drivers of spatial turnover between spider faunas of European territories.LocationContinental Europe.Time periodPresent.Major taxa studiedSpiders (Order Araneae).MethodsWe analysed how distance‐decay patterns differ between northern and southern Europe (broadly, territories covered vs. not covered by ice sheets during the last glacial maximum, respectively) in 15 spider families, using standardized distances to allow a direct comparison between parameters (i.e. slope and intercept) of climatic and spatial distance‐decay models. Thus, we assessed North–South differences in parameters of spatial and, independently, climatic distance‐decay models, and whether those differences are explained by family‐specific traits related to dispersal ability.ResultsClimatic and spatial distance‐decay patterns are very similar in northern Europe, where climatic and spatial distances are highly correlated. In contrast, slopes are steeper in spatial than in climatic distance‐decay curves in southern Europe, where climatic and spatial distances are decoupled. Moreover, family traits related to dispersal ability explained the North–South difference in spatial distance‐decay slopes, as well as the amount of nestedness‐resultant dissimilarity between southern and northern spider faunas.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that differences in beta diversity patterns between northern and southern Europe reflect the strength of dispersal limitation in spiders, which varies across families and leads to different degrees of disequilibrium with current climatic conditions depending on the taxon. Moreover, in the South of Europe, where spatial and climatic distances are uncorrelated, spatial distance‐decay models are steeper and have larger explanatory power than climatic distance‐decay models, which suggests that dispersal limitation is the main factor shaping current beta diversity patterns of European spiders at the continental scale.

Abundance and Diversity of Spiders in Agroecosystems of Jabalpur

The fauna of spiders which is a significant part of agriculture ecosystem was observed in 8 crop fields during the kharif. The spiders were caught from June-October, using sweep nets. The total numbers of spider species were 37 representing 12 families. Araneidae was the most abundant family, followed by Thomisidae, Salticidae, Oxyopidae, Tetragnathidae, Clubionidae, Dictynidae, Gnaphosidae, Lycosidae, Sparassidae, Theridiidae and Ulboridae. The species diversity index (H`) was 4.98 and the Equitability index (EH) was 0.95. An ordination of correspondence analysis demonstrated a bunching of the spiders commencing to paddy fields was more as compared to other crops. Thus, paddy seemed to give better natural niche for the spiders than other field crops. Increasing use of pesticides is the main menace to the several species and their survival in agroecosystem.

The faunistic diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the South African Cape Floristic Kingdom

Spider species distribution in the Cape Floristic Kingdom (CFK) was compiled as part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), whose main aim was to create a relational database for the country’s arachnid fauna. Data from the CFK was extracted from taxonomic and faunistic published papers, as well as unpublished faunistic survey data in national collections. A total of 11 500 records from 130 localities were recorded in the CFK until the end of 2023, representing 62 families, 334 genera and 960 species, with two further families (Synotaxidae and Theridiosomatidae) only known from undescribed species. This represents 42.4% of the total spider fauna of South Africa. For each species, the global and CFK distribution, as well as the level of endemicity and a conservation assessment using the IUCN Red List criteria, are provided. A total of 269 spp. (28.0%) are endemic to the CFK, 49 spp. (5.1%) are of special concern, and 229 spp. (23.9%) are Data Deficient. However, most of the species (682 spp., 71.0%) have a wide distribution with no known threats and are categorised as Least Concern. Salticidae is the most species-rich family (128 spp.), with 30 spp. endemic to the CFK, followed by the Gnaphosidae (107 spp.), Thomisidae (86 spp.) and Lycosidae (49 spp.), while six families are represented by a single species. The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the knowledge of spiders in South Africa, and there are certainly many more species that must still be discovered and described.

Ground spiders (Chelicerata, Araneae) of an urban green space: intensive sampling in a protected area of Rome (Italy) reveals a high diversity and new records to the Italian territory.

Urbanisation is a rapidly growing global phenomenon leading to habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation. However, urban areas can offer opportunities for conservation, particularly through the presence of green spaces which can even provide important habitats for imperilled species. Spiders, which play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, include many species that can successfully exploit urban environments. Placed in the middle of the Mediterranean global biodiversity hotspot, Italy possesses an exceptionally rich spider fauna, yet comprehensive data on urban spider communities are still limited. More information on urban spiders in Italy would be extremely beneficial to support conservation efforts, especially in central and southern Italy, where knowledge on the spider fauna is largely incomplete. The current study focused on the spider diversity of a large protected area (Appia Antica Regional Park) in urban Rome, Italy. A total of 120 spider species belonging to 83 genera and 28 families were identified, with 70 species being new records to the Province of Rome, 39 to the Latium Region and two (Pelecopsisdigitulus Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 and Palliduphantesarenicola (Denis, 1964)) to Italy.Forty-one species were recorded during autumn/winter sampling and 107 in spring/summer. The spider fauna recorded from the study area included about 37% of the total spider fauna known from the Province of Rome, 28% of that of the Latium Region and 7% of the entire Italian territory. The most represented families in terms of species richness were Gnaphosidae and Linyphiidae, which accounted for more than 40% of the sampled fauna. Lycosidae were the most abundant family (29% of captured individuals), followed by Zodariidae (16% of captured individuals), Linyphiidae (13% of captured individuals) and Gnaphosidae (7.5% of captured individuals). From a biogeographical point of view, most of the collected species belonged to chorotypes that extend for large areas across Europe and the Mediterranean. The research highlights the role of urban green spaces as refuges for spiders and the importance of arachnological research in urban areas as sources of information on spider biodiversity at larger scales.

Spider diversity in different habitats at District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan.

Spider species are important for maintaining ecological balance, controlling insect populations, and providing potential sources of medicinal compounds. Highlighting the importance of spider species, the present study was aimed at exploring the diversity of spider fauna and species richness in various habitats in District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, from March 2021 to December 2021. Spiders were collected through different methods: pitfall traps, cryptic searching, ground hand collection, aerial hand collection, and vegetation beating. Then, the captured spiders were washed in alcohol and preserved in a combination of 80% alcohol and 20% glycerol for further observation. Identification was carried out with the help of available spider identification keys and literature. A total of 578 specimens representing 29 species from 17 families and 26 genera were collected and identified. Family Lycosidae was the most dominant family (13.49%), followed by Salticidae (10.2%), Araneidae (8.47%), Tetragnathidae (7.61%), Pholicidae (6.4%), Oxyopidae (5.88%), Thomisidae (5.7%), Clubionidae (5.53%), Sicariidae (5.19%), Scytodidae (5.01%), Corinnidae (4.67%), Agelenidae (4.32%), Cheiracanthiidae and Sparassidae (4.15%), Oecobiidae and Hersiliidae (3.97%) and Theridiidae was the rarest among all (1.21%). The most commonly identified species are Hippasa partita, Lycosa poonaesis, Lycosa terrestris, Draposa oakleyi, Plexippus paykulli, Menemerus nigli, Thyene imperialis, Thyene bivittate and Hasarius adansoni. Argiope versicolor, Neoscona theisi, Tetragnatha extensa, Crossopriza lyoni, and Oxyopes Javanus. During the present study, it was observed that spider species were abundantly found in warm areas from May to August, which demonstrates that the spider fauna of the study area is very rich but has yet to be explored.

First report on diversity and inventory of spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) in Munia Conservation Reserve (MCR), Nagpur, Maharashtra, Central India

First report on diversity and inventory of spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) in Munia Conservation Reserve (MCR), Nagpur, Maharashtra, Central India

ПАВУКИ (ARACHNIDA, ARANEI) ПСАМОФІТНИХ ОСЕЛИЩ УРОЧИЩА ЗМІЇНІ ОСТРОВИ КАНІВСЬКОГО ПРИРОДНОГО ЗАПОВІДНИКА

B a c k g r o u n d . A herpetobius spiders of psammophilic vegetation areas of the sandy coast of the Kaniv Reservoir on the territory of the Zmiyini ostrovy tract, which is part of the Kaniv Nature Reserve, were studied. The variety of natural conditions of the reserve contributed to the formation of a high species diversity of flora and the corresponding complexes of living organisms, inextricably linked to these conditions of existence. All this gives reason to expect that the potential species richness of the local spider fauna of the Kaniv Nature Reserve may be one of the highest among other nature conservation areas of Ukraine. M e t h o d s . As the main collection method pitfall soil traps were used, installed in two periods: 06.06–07.01.2011 and 03–07.07.2017. The experimental plot was located near the sandy coast of the Kaniv Reservoir. The site is sand dunes overgrown with psamophyllous herbaceous vegetation near a pine-oak forest. Geographic coordinates of the experimental hospital: 49°50'28"N; 31°32'26"E. About 160 trap-days were worked, and 25 species of spiders, which are part of 10 families, were discovered. R e s u l t s . The vast majority of species are typical xerophiles that prefer thermophytic, arid or dry, open habitats with high levels of insolation. An annotated list of species is provided, which includes faunal material, geographical distribution, ecological features, and places of finds in the left-bank part of the Forest-Steppe Zone of Ukraine and for the Kaniv Nature Reserve. Among adult specimens, males predominate, their share is 63.5 %, the share of females is 36.5 %. The share of juvenile individuals among the total number of specimens is 38.3 %. A significant percentage of juvenile individuals is determined by the time of field work (during June), when the of spring-summer phenological group species gradually reduces its quantitative and qualitative presence in groups after the reproduction period. C o n c l u s i o n s . Taking into account the results of our research and data from literary sources, the list of spiders of the Snake Islands tract includes at least 63 species from 20 families. For the first time, 15 species of spiders from 8 families are indicated for the fauna of the Kaniv Reserve: Atypus muralis (Atypidae), Berlandina cinerea, Callilepis nocturna, Drassyllus praeficus, Haplodrassus kulczynskii, Zelotes electus, Zelotes longipes, Zelotes petrensis (Gnaphosidae), Alopecosa aculeata, Mustellicosa dimidiata (Lycosidae), Pholcus opilionoides (Pholcidae), Phlegra fasciata (Salticidae), Euryopis quinqueguttata (Theridiidae), Psammitis ninnii (Thomisidae) and Titanoeca spominima (Titanoecidae). For the territory of the Zmiyini ostrovy tract, 5 species of spiders belonging to 3 families were found to be new: Pardosa lugubris, Pirata piraticus, Xerolycosa miniata (Lycosidae), Thanatus formicinus (Philodromidae) and Steatoda albomaculata (Theridiidae). The value of the Shannon index for the grouping of Herpetobium spiders in areas of psammophilous vegetation is given – 3.219 bits. This index for the spider communities of the oak forest litter (fresh silverwood) is 3.738 bits. The value of the Jacquard index for species complexes of spiders of the compared biotopes is only 0.063. The low level of fauna relatedness is explained by the significant difference in the structure of the plant composition and the corresponding microclimatic conditions. Common to herpetobium spiders of both biotopes are 4 species of spiders: Arctosa lutetiana, Crustulina guttata, Drassodes lapidosus and Titanoeca schineri.

Diversity and Microhabitat Association of Spider Fauna in Manas National Park, Assam, India

Spiders act as a useful indicator of the health of an ecosystem and it is also one of the most diverse arthropod groups. The present study was intended to investigate the diversity of spider fauna in Manas National Park (MNP) of Assam in northeast India. The study was carried out in the parts of Bhuyapara, Bansbari, Panbari, and Kuklung Forest Range of MNP from September 2018 to August 2021. Three different habitat types namely woodland, grassland, and riparian habitats were sampled using 50 m×10 m transects and a semi-quantitative sampling method as a sampling technique. From MNP, a total of 73 species of spiders were recorded belonging to 47 genera and 16 families. Family Araneidae was the most abundant family supporting 21 species and 28.77% of the total species recorded. The majority of the spider species were found in woodland habitats with 54.17% of the total recorded species. Again, orb waver was the most abundant guild structure which comprised 45.21% of the total recorded guild. The surface of a leaf or among leaves was the most abundant microhabitat, comprised 42.47% of all recorded microhabitat. Thus, the result of the present study opined that MNP harbors a great diversity of spider species and subsequently calls for conservation priority areas in the region.

Türkiye Örümcek (Araneae) Faunasına Katkılar

This paper presents the results of a preliminary survey of the spiders of Marmara region and provides new data on the spider fauna of Türkiye. During the study, spider samples were collected by hand aspirator and pitfall traps. As a result, Heliophanus apiatus Simon, 1868 (Salticidae) is recorded for the first time from Türkiye. Also, occurrence of Amaurobius pallidus L. Koch, 1868 (Amaurobiidae) is confirmed with this study. Additionally, the record of H. apiatus from Marmara region represents the easternmost point of its distribution range. A morphological diagnosis, comparative pictures, and illustrations are provided for both species.

Contribution to spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) from Bjeshkët e Nemuna mountains (Kosovo)

Since Kosovo is the least explored territory in the Balkan Peninsula when it comes to the study of spider fauna, with large, untouched areas, we aim to explore it in detail. From Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains only 15 species have been reported. We collected and identified 323 spider specimens (88♂♂, 235♀♀) from April 2018 to August 2021 at 20 sites in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park between 529 and 2066 m a.s.l. These specimens belong to 91 species, 65 genera, and 23 families. Of these, 42 species, 13 genera, and 2 families are new records for the spider fauna of Kosovo, and 90 species are new for the mountains. As a result of our research, the list of species known from the studied region increased from 15 to 105 and the number of known spiders in Kosovo increased to 248 species.