New data on the wolf spiders of Iran (Arachnida: Aranei: Lycosidae), with a description of two new species

New taxonomic and faunistic data on 25 species in 13 genera of Lycosidae from Iran are provided. Two new species Alopecosa pekari sp.n. (male) and Trochosa marusiki sp.n. (male) are diagnosed and described from West Azerbaijan Province. The genus Draposa Kronestedt, 2010 and the species Draposa oakleyi (Gravely, 1924), Evippa eltonica Dunin, 1994, Karakumosa turanica Logunov et Ponomarev, 2020 and K. zyuzint Logunov et Ponomarev, 2020 are recorded from Iran for the first time. Thirteen new provincial records are also provided. The known lycosid fauna of Iran contains now 81 species

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

A new species of the mygalomorph spider genus Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 (Araneae; Nemesiidae) from Turkey

WOS: 000281496500004A new Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 (Araneae; Nemesiidae) species, Raveniola arthuri n. sp., is described. The diagnostic characters of the new species are given

New data of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of Cyprus. I. Dysderidae found in caves

WOS: 000458882700003PubMed ID: 30814904This paper is the first in a series describing the previously unstudied cave spiders from Cyprus. Two new species, Dysderocnstes kibrisensis sp. n. and Harpactea kalavachiana sp. n., are described. Detailed morphological descriptions and diagnostic characteristics are presented. This is the first report of the genus Dysderocrates Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman, 1988 from Cyprus.European Union, Caves of Kyrenia Mountains Project: Research, Conservation, and Education through "Cypriot Civil Society in Action V Program" [2015/371-989]; US Embassy in NicosiaThis study was produced with the financial support of the European Union as part of the "Caves of Kyrenia Mountains Project: Research, Conservation, and Education through "Cypriot Civil Society in Action V Program" (contract number: 2015/371-989) and co-funded by the US Embassy in Nicosia. This research was led by Magara Meraklilari Dernegi (Cave Enthusiasts NGO) in Cyprus and the Union of International Speleology (UIS) in Slovenia. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. We are deeply indebted to Ferhat Altunsoy (Eskisehir, Turkey) and Mert Elverici (Ankara, Turkey) who photographed the holotypes of the new species. We also thank Yuri Marusik (Magadan, Russia) who kindly provided a photograph of the vulva of Harpactea parthica from Iran. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and their many insightful comments and suggestions. The English of the final text was kindly checked by Sarah Crews (San Francisco, USA)

THREE NEW GENUS RECORDS OF THE SPIDER FAUNA OF TURKEY (ARANEAE: SALTICIDAE)

WOS: 000325587100015New records of 3 genera and 3 species of Salticidae from Turkey are presented for Bianor albobimaculatus (Lucas, 1846), Dendryphantes rudis (Sundevall, 1833) and Hyllus insularis Metzner, 1999. Their morphology is briefly described and illustrated. Current knowledge on diversity of Salticidae in Turkey is also reviewed. Total number of Salticidae species recorded from Turkey now is 102

A new species of Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae) from Turkey

WOS: 000276809100003A new species Hersiliola turcica sp. n. is described on the basis of both sexes from Southeast Turkey. Males of the new species have an extraordinarily long embolus and females have very long insemination ducts.RFFIRussian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) [09-04-01365-a, 10-04-91225-CT_a, 10-04-01424-a]We thank Mehmet Ozkoruk, Mehmet Yalcin, Gokhan calisir, the late Gokhan Katirci, Abdulmuttalip Akkaya, Volkan Ulgezer, Ekber Ulupinar (Gaziantep; Turkey) and Dr. Sinan Anlas (Izmir; Turkey) for help during field trips. The English of the final draft was kindly checked by A. Russell-Smith and J. Gerlach. This work was supported in part by the RFFI grants # 09-04-01365-a, 10-04-91225-CT_a and 10-04-01424-a

Redescription of Harpactea korgei Brignoli, 1979 (Araneae: Dysderidae) with the first description of the female

The redescription of dysderid spider Harpactea korgei Brignoli, 1979, on the basis of newly collected material is provided. The female of this species, previously unknown, is described here for the first time

Two new species of Harpactea (Araneae, Dysderidae) from Turkey

WOS: 000299592200004PubMed ID: 22287886Two new species, Harpactea arnedoi sp. n. and H. kencei sp. n., are described on the basis of both sexes from the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean regions of Turkey. H. kencei sp. n. can be easily distinguished from all other Turkish and European representatives of the genus by the structure of the flattened, massive embolus on the male copulatory organ. Although resembling Stalagtia in palpal morphology, we describe one of the new species as Harpactea arnedoi sp. n. For both Turkish species, detailed morphological descriptions and diagnoses are presented together with figures of the copulatory organs.Research Foundation of Anadolu UniversityAnadolu University [1001F31]; Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science [DVU01-116]This work was supported by the Research Foundation of Anadolu University (Project Number: 1001F31) and partly supported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science (project "Investigation of model epigeobiont and geobiont animal groups as a potential for long-term monitoring and conservation of the biodiversity in Strandja Mountain (Bulgaria and Turkey)" No: DVU01-116). We are very grateful to Dr. Fulvio Gasparo (Italy) for his valuable comments regarding the new species. We would like to thank Dr. Yuri Marusik (Russian Federation) for translations of Russian texts and our colleagues Dr. Sinan Anlas (Turkey) and Mr. Mehmet Ozkoruk (Gaziantep, Turkey) for their important help during field trips. The English of the final draft was kindly checked by Dr. David Penney (United Kingdom)

Taxonomic notes on two sibling species of Metellina from Asia (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)

Two sibling species, Metellina orientalis (Spassky, 1932) and M. kirgisica (Bakhvalov, 1974), occurring in the Middle East and Central Asia are redescribed and their distributions mapped. The previously unknown male of M. kirgisica is described for the first time. Stridulatory files on male chelicera of Metellina are also documented for the first time. The occurrence of M. kirgisica in Azerbaijan and Tajikistan and the presence of M. orientalis in Turkey are confirmed

The genus Hygrocrates Deeleman-Reinhold, 1988 (Araneae, Dysderidae) in Turkey

WOS: 000289874700001PubMed ID: 21594094A new species, Hygrocrates deelemanus Kunt & Yagmur sp. n., is described on the basis of both sexes from the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Detailed morphological descriptions, diagnosis and figures of the copulatory organs of both Turkish species are presented. An identification key is presented for all the currently known species of Hygrocrates.Research Foundation of Anadolu UniversityAnadolu University [1001F31]This work was supported by the Research Foundation of Anadolu University (Project Number: 1001F31). We are very grateful to Dr. Fulvio Gasparo (Italy), Dr. Christa Deeleman-Reinhold (Netherlands) and Dr. Christo Deltshev (Bulgaria) for their valuable comments regarding the new species. We would like to thank Dr. Yuri Marusik (Russian Federation) for translate Russian texts; Dr. Stefan Otto (Germany) and Dr. Vera Pkhakadze (Georgia) for giving information on holotype of H. georgicus. We also thank Mr. Sava Kunt (Turkey) who is the lovely father of the first author and our colleague Mr. Mert Elverici (Turkey) for their important help during field trips. The English of the final draft was kindly checked by Dr. David Penney (United Kingdom)