Spiders in caves: the CAWEB project

World experts of different disciplines, from molecular biology to macroecology, recognize the value of cave ecosystems as ideal ecological and evolutionary laboratories. Among other subterranean taxa, spiders stand out as intriguing model organisms for their ecological role of top-predators, their unique adaptations to the hypogean medium and their sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance. Here, we provide a general overview of the spider families recorded in hypogean habitats in Europe–20 families including nearly 500 species, most of them with restricted distributions. We also review the different adaptations of hypogean spiders to subterranean life and summarize the information gathered so far about their origin, population structure, ecology and conservation status. Taxonomic knowledge on subterranean spiders in Europe appears to be well, but not exhaustively documented. The origin of the European assemblages is mostly explained by past climate dynamics, although other factors are likely to be involved. Most of the macroecological issues related to spiders in European caves are based on qualitative assessments or have been quantified only at a sub-regional scale. In order to shed light on cave spiders’ biogeography and the macroecological patterns driving the diversity of European subterranean spiders we created the CAWEB network, a spontaneous collaboration between subterranean arachnologists from 30 different European countries. We here present the team and provide some preliminary results, which highlight Southern Europe as an important hot-spot for the European subterranean spider diversity

Continental data on cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe (Arachnida: Araneae)

Background Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are widespread in subterranean ecosystems worldwide and represent an important component of subterranean trophic webs. Yet, global-scale diversity patterns of subterranean spiders are still mostly unknown. In the frame of the CAWEB project, a European joint network of cave arachnologists, we collected data on cave dwelling spider communities across Europe in order to explore their continental diversity patterns. Two main datasets were compiled: one listing all subterranean spider species recorded in numerous subterranean localities across Europe and another with high resolution data about the subterranean habitat in which they were collected. From these two datasets, we further generated a third dataset with individual geo-referenced occurrence records for all these species. New information Data from 475 geo-referenced subterranean localities (caves, mines and other artificial subterranean sites, interstitial habitats) are herein made available. For each subterranean locality, information about the composition of the spider community is provided, along with local geomorphological and habitat features. Altogether, these communities account for > 300 unique taxonomic entities and 2,091 unique geo-referenced occurrence records, that are made available via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Mammola and Cardoso 2019). This dataset is unique in that it covers both a large geographic extent (from 35 south to 67 degrees north) and contains high-resolution local data on geomorphological and habitat features. Given that this kind of high-resolution data are rarely associated with broad-scale datasets used in macroecology, this dataset has high potential for helping researchers in tackling a range of biogeographical and macroecological questions, not necessarily uniquely related to arachnology or subterranean biology

Community structure of woody plants on islands along a bioclimatic gradient

Peer reviewe

Phaneropterinae Burmeister 1838

Subfam. Phaneropterinae Burmeister, 1838 Tribe undeterminedPublished as part of <i>Massa, Bruno, Annoyer, Philippe, Perez, Cyrille, Danflous, Samuel & Duvot, Guilhem, 2020, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae (Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae Mecopodinae, Hetrodinae) from some protected areas of Central African Republic, pp. 401-447 in Zootaxa 4780 (3)</i> on page 408, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3855195">http://zenodo.org/record/3855195</a&gt

Eurycorypha spinulosa Karsch 1889

<i>Eurycorypha spinulosa</i> Karsch, 1889 <p> <b>Material examined</b>. <b>CAR</b>. Dzanga-Sangha SR, Camp 3, 6.II.2005 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂); Dzanga-Ndoki NP, Lake 1, 15–16.II.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂) (PAPC).</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. <i>E. spinulosa</i> is known from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Fernando Poo (Equatorial Guinea) and Gabon (Karsch 1889, 1890, 1891, Griffini 1906, 1908, Sjöstedt 1912, Massa 2017a). It is here recorded also from CAR.</p>Published as part of <i>Massa, Bruno, Annoyer, Philippe, Perez, Cyrille, Danflous, Samuel & Duvot, Guilhem, 2020, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae (Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae Mecopodinae, Hetrodinae) from some protected areas of Central African Republic, pp. 401-447 in Zootaxa 4780 (3)</i> on page 413, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3855195">http://zenodo.org/record/3855195</a&gt

Arantia (Euarantia) congensis Griffini 1908

<i>Arantia</i> (<i>Euarantia</i>) <i>congensis</i> Griffini, 1908 <p> <b>Material examined</b>. <b>CAR</b>. Dzanga-Sangha SR, Bayanga-Lidjombo pk 21, 16–17.VI.1998 (light) (1♂); Lobaye prefecture, Botoko Vill., 12.XI.2010, P. Annoyer (1♀); Dzanga-Ndoki NP, Likembe, 24.I.2012, P. Annoyer (1♂); Lake 1, 9–10.II.2012, 14–15.II.2012, 17–18.II.2012, 19–20.II.2012, 21–22.II.2012, 23–24.II.2012, 27.II.2012, 29.II.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (14♂, 2♀) (PAPC).</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. According to Hemp & Massa (2017) <i>A. congensis</i> is known only from CAR and Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>Published as part of <i>Massa, Bruno, Annoyer, Philippe, Perez, Cyrille, Danflous, Samuel & Duvot, Guilhem, 2020, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae (Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae Mecopodinae, Hetrodinae) from some protected areas of Central African Republic, pp. 401-447 in Zootaxa 4780 (3)</i> on page 422, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3855195">http://zenodo.org/record/3855195</a&gt

Zeuneria longicercus Sjostedt 1929

<i>Zeuneria longicercus</i> Sjöstedt, 1929 <p> <b>Material examined</b>. <b>CAR</b>. Dzanga-Sangha SR, camp1, 15.X.2008, camp 2, 21–22.X.2008 (light), P. Annoy- er (1♂, 1♀); Dzanga-Ndoki NP, Lake 1, 22–23.XI.2010 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂); Lake 1, 28.I.2012, 7.II.2012, 22–23.II.2012, 3–4.III.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (5♂); Lake 3, 15.II.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂); Lake 7, 29.II– 1.III.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂) (PAPC).</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. <i>Z. longicercus</i> is known from Democratic Republic of Congo and CAR (Massa 2013, 2018).</p>Published as part of <i>Massa, Bruno, Annoyer, Philippe, Perez, Cyrille, Danflous, Samuel & Duvot, Guilhem, 2020, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae (Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae Mecopodinae, Hetrodinae) from some protected areas of Central African Republic, pp. 401-447 in Zootaxa 4780 (3)</i> on page 428, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3855195">http://zenodo.org/record/3855195</a&gt

Morgenia modulata Karsch 1896

<i>Morgenia modulata</i> Karsch, 1896 (Fig. 55) <p> <b>Material examined</b>. <b>CAR</b>. Bayanga-Lidjombo pk21, 15–16.VI.1998 (light) (1♂); Lobaye prefecture, Boda- N’Gotto, 20.I.2005, P. Annoyer (1♂); Dzanga-Sangha SR, Camp 1, 25–27.I.2005 (light), P. Annoyer (4♂); Camp 2, on a Kungu (<i>Piptadenastrium africanum</i>, Fabaceae) (platform 40m) and at base of it, 19–23.X.2008 (light), P. Annoyer (3♂) (PAPC); Dzanga-Ndoki NP, Lake 1, 25–26.XI.2010, 28–29.XI.2010, 29–30.XI.2010, 1–2.XII.2010, 2–3.XII.2010 (light), P. Annoyer (8♂); Mboki 25–26.I.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (1♂); Lake 1, 9–10.II.2012, 11–12.II.2012, 12–13.II.2012, 14–15.II.2012, 15–16.II.2012, 17–18.II.2012, 19–20.II.2012, 22–23.II.2012, 24– 25.II.2012, 25–26.II.2012, 28–29.II.2012 (light), P.Annoyer (22♂, 3♀); Lake 3, 15.II.2012 (light), P.Annoyer (1♀); Lake 3, 15.II.2012, 24–25.II.2012, 25–26.II.2012, 26–27.II.2012 (light), P. Annoyer (13♂) (BMPC & PAPC).</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. According to Massa <i>et al</i>. (2018), <i>M. modulata</i> is known from Cameroon, CAR, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Togo.</p>Published as part of <i>Massa, Bruno, Annoyer, Philippe, Perez, Cyrille, Danflous, Samuel & Duvot, Guilhem, 2020, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae (Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae Mecopodinae, Hetrodinae) from some protected areas of Central African Republic, pp. 401-447 in Zootaxa 4780 (3)</i> on pages 432-433, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3855195">http://zenodo.org/record/3855195</a&gt