Description of New Ground Spider Species (Gnaphosidae, Araneae) from Mainland Greece †

In the course of an extensive sampling of ground spiders in mainland Greece, six new species, namely, Civizelotes akmon n.sp., Drassyllus centrohellenicus n.sp., Drassyllus covid n.sp., Drassyllus dadianus n.sp., Phaeocedus similaris n.sp., and Zeloteshistio n.sp., all belonging to the family Gnaphosidae Banks, 1892, were identified and are described. Furthermore, taxonomic comments on Civizelotes gracilis (Canestrini, 1868) and its relationship with C. pygmaeus (Miller, 1943), Drassyllus dadia Komnenov & Chatzaki, 2016, as well as on Zelotes olympi (Kulczyński, 1903) and its relationship with Z. talpinus (L. Koch, 1872) are provided. Drassodes omalosis Roewer, 1928 is removed from the synonymy of D. unicolor (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) and the species is revalidated.

A new species of the genus Gaucha Mello-Leitão, 1924 from Minas Gerais, Brazil (Solifugae, Mummuciidae)

A new sun-spider species of the ibirapemussu species-group of the genus Gaucha is described based on males and a female collected in Southeastern Brazil. The newly described species can be readily distinguished from its congeners by the reduction of the cheliceral fixed finger, distal tooth (FD), closely positioned and smaller than the medial tooth (FM); the presence of cheliceral fixed finger profondal subproximal (PFSP) and retrofondal submedial (RFSM) teeth; and by the cheliceral movable finger, medial tooth (MM) well developed, larger than submedial tooth (MSM) and smaller than proximal tooth (MP). This is the thirteenth described species in the genus Gaucha, all known from South America.

Diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) and the impact of pruning in Indian sandalwood plantations from Karnataka, India

Indian sandalwood Santalum album L. plantations in Karnataka were surveyed to study the diversity and abundance of spider fauna. A total of 1,244 individuals belonging to 56 spider species in 40 genera under 14 families were recorded in the sandalwood plantations. Among the spider families recorded, Araneidae was the most dominant with 15 species in nine genera followed by Salticidae with 13 species in 10 genera, Thomisidae with seven species in four genera, Oxyopidae with four species in three genera, Uloboridae with four species in a genus, and Theridiidae by three species each under three genera. Lycosidae and Sparassidae are represented by two species under two genera each. The families Cheiracanthiidae, Clubionidae, Hersiliidae, Philodromidae, and Pholcidae are represented by a species each. The pruning of sandalwood revealed a significant negative effect on the occurrence and distribution of spiders.

Coelotes vignai Brignoli, 1978 (Araneae: Agelenidae) from Turkey: first description of male and annotations on terminology of copulatory organs

The agelenid spider species Coelotes vignai Brignoli, 1978 was described, based on female specimens from Turkey. The unknown male is here described, based on specimens from the type locality: Bolu, Abant Mountains, Turkey. The variation of the female copulatory organs is illustrated. The relationships of the species with its putative closest congeners are discussed. The discrepancy between the morphological terminology used in the Coelotinae and Ageleninae is discussed and some suggestions how to unify them are proposed.

Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much

To investigate a specificity of spiders as a prototypical fear- and disgust-eliciting stimuli, we conducted an online experiment. The respondents rated images of 25 spiders, 12 non-spider chelicerates, and 10 other arthropods on a fear and disgust 7-point scale. The evaluation of 968 Central European respondents confirmed the specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods and supported the notion of spiders as a cognitive category. We delineated this category as covering extant spider species as well as some other chelicerates bearing a physical resemblance to spiders, mainly whip spiders and camel spiders. We suggested calling this category the spider-like cognitive category. We discussed evolutionary roots of the spider-like category and concluded that its roots should be sought in fear, with disgust being secondary of the two emotions. We suggested other chelicerates, e.g., scorpions, might have been important in formation and fixation of the spider-like category. Further, we investigated an effect of respondent’s sensitivity to a specific fear of spiders on evaluation of the stimuli. We found that suspected phobic respondents were in their rating nearly identical to those with only high fear of spiders and similar to those with only moderate fear of spiders. We concluded that results based on healthy respondents with elevated fear should also be considered relevant for arachnophobia research.

Pholcus maxian sp. nov., the fifth endemic spider species of Pholcus phungiformes species-group (Araneae: Pholcidae) at the border between Jilin, China and North Korea

The distribution pattern of Pholcus phungiformes species-group indicates that, in Jilin and Heilongjiang, China and North Korea, additional species diversity remains undiscovered. Pholcus maxian sp. nov., one new species of P. phungiformes species-group, is described, based on material collected from the borderline between Jilin, China and North Korea. It represents the fifth endemic species of this species-group and the genus Pholcus from this region.

Maternal care in Mid-Cretaceous lagonomegopid spiders

Maternal care benefits the survival and fitness of offspring, often at a cost to the mother's future reproduction, and has evolved repeatedly throughout the animal kingdom. In extant spider species, this behaviour is very common and has different levels and diverse forms. However, evidence of maternal care in fossil spiders is quite rare. In this study, we describe four Mid-Cretaceous (approx. 99 Ma) amber specimens from northern Myanmar with an adult female, part of an egg sac and some spiderlings of the extinct family Lagonomegopidae preserved, which suggest that adult lagonomegopid females probably built and then guarded egg sacs in their retreats or nests, and the hatched spiderlings may have stayed together with their mother for some time. The new fossils represent early evidence of maternal care in fossil spiders, and enhance our understanding of the evolution of this behaviour.

Keanekaragaman laba-laba pada perkebunan kelapa sawit yang berbatasan dengan hutan

Oil palm plantations bordering forests were thought to affect the biotic components that make up the diversity of ecosystems, especially species with high mobilization and adaptability, such as spiders. This study aims to identify spiders found in oil palm plantations and analyzing diversity and evenness at various distances of oil palm plantations from the forest. Observations of spiders were carried out on oil palm plantations bordered by forests in Nagari Gunung Selasih and Sungai Kambut, Pulau Punjung District, Dharmasraya Regency, West Sumatra Province. In oil palm plantations, a one km long transect line was made from the forest edge. In the sample plots, spiders were observed using a pitfall trap, knockdown, and hand collecting. Data were analyzed using the Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness index. The highest spider species diversity index was found at a distance of 100–300 m from the forest, respectively 3.06, 3.05, and 3.11. The same is true for the highest evenness index at a distance of 100–300 m from the forest, respectively, namely 0.94, 0.94, and 0.95. In general, the results of this study indicate that the presence of forest bordering the forest is thought to affect spiders in oil palm plantations.

Eight cobweb spider species from China building detritus-based, bell-shaped retreats (Araneae, Theridiidae)

Eight cobweb spider species building a detritus-based, bell-shaped retreat from China are reported in the current paper, including five new Campanicola species and three known species: Campanicola anguilliformis Li & Liu, sp. nov., Campanicola falciformis Li & Liu, sp. nov., Campanicola heteroidea Li & Liu, sp. nov., Campanicola tauricornis Li & Liu, sp. nov., Campanicola volubilis Li & Liu, sp. nov., Campanicola campanulata (Chen, 1993), Campanicola ferrumequina (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906), and Parasteatoda ducta (Zhu, 1998). Among them, the male of Parasteatoda ducta (Zhu, 1998) is described for the first time. We provide photographs of all species and descriptions for new species in the current paper. The type of bell-shaped retreat is rare in theridiid, and found only in four related genera. A natural next step upon completing this taxonomic study would be to analyse and understand the evolution of the retreat and related traits.