Figs 9-20 - uploaded by Thomas Cassar
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Characters distinguishing Nemesia arboricola Pocock, 1903 from N. macrocephala Ausserer, 1871. 9-14. N. arboricola; represented by two specimens (TC.016, NHMR, Figs 9, 11, 13, specimen collected from an arboreal-nest; TC.017, NHMR, Figs 10, 12, 14, specimen collected from a terrestrial nest). 15-20. N. macrocephala; represented by two specimens (Isaia.046; Figs 15, 17, 19 and Isaia.047; Figs 16, 18, 20), both collected from terrestrial nests near the type locality, Palermo, Sicily. 9-10, 15-16. Presence or absence of labial cuspules. Note presence of labial cuspules (cu) in N. arboricola (Figs 9-10) versus absence of labial cuspules in N. macrocephala (Figs 15-16). 11-12, 17-18. Colour pattern opisthosoma. Note dark coloured and speckled opisthosoma in N. arboricola (Figs 11-12) versus light coloured ophistosoma with chevron lines (Figs 17-18) in N. macrocephala. 13-14, 19-20. Differences in structure of PMS. Note thickened and slightly swollen PMS (is) in N. arboricola (Figs 13-14) versus slender, conical PMS (cs) in N. macrocephala (Figs 19-20). Scale bars = 1 mm.
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Contrary to what its name suggests, Nemesia arboricola is not strictly arboreal in habit. Here we compare female specimens of N. arboricola collected from arboreal and terrestrial nests. We furthermore describe the male of N. arboricola for the first time as well as two recently discovered species of Nemesia (N. maltensis sp. nov. and N. cominensis...
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Citations
... As a result of the contribution of the present work, the known spider fauna of the Maltese Islands increases from 150 species (Pfliegler et al. 2017, Dentici 2018, Cassar & Řezáč 2021, Cassar et al. 2022 to 186 species. The number of species of harvestmen has also increased from five to six species. ...
The arachnid fauna of the Maltese Islands has not yet been adequately investigated. In the present work, from a total of 117 species sampled, 36 taxa represent newly recorded spider species (Araneae) for Malta, with an additional new record of a harvestman (Opiliones). These new records include three new spider families and one new harvestman family for the Maltese archipelago: Anyphaenidae Bertkau, 1878, Mimetidae Simon, 1881, Oxyopidae Thorell, 1869 and Sclerosomatidae Simon, 1879; as well as two species which are recorded from Europe for the first time: Acartauchenius insigniceps (Simon, 1894) and Zelotes poecilochroaeformis Denis, 1937. Ecological, distributional, biogeographical and taxonomic notes are provided for the newly recorded species.
... The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Despite enormous human pressures on the natural environment of the Islands, they are home to an estimated 4500 species of terrestrial and freshwater arthropods, and hundreds of species continue to be added to the archipelago's known fauna-including various newly described taxa [39][40][41][42][43]. Such burgeoning island biodiversity paired with rapid urban encroachment into natural habitats has great implications for conservation. ...
The intranidal myrmecophilous arthropod fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Thirty species from nine orders are found to be obligate myrmecophiles, of which four species are recorded from the Maltese archipelago for the first time: Phrurolithus sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), Pogonolaelaps canestrinii (Berlese, 1904), Gymnolaelaps messor Joharchi, Halliday, Saboori & Kamali, 2011 and G. myrmecophilus (Berlese, 1892) (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae). Phrurolithus also represents the first record of the family Phrurolithidae in Malta. Notes on the biology and local distribution of each species are provided, including ant-myrmecophile associations, of which two appear to be previously unknown: the occurrence of Smynthurodes betae Westwood, 1849 (Hemiptera: Aphidi-dae) in the nest of Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille, 1798) and Phrurolithus in the nest of Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849). Fourteen additional species are found to be either only occasionally myrme-cophilic, accidental ant-guests or potentially myrmecophilous, the latter remaining ambiguous due to a lack of knowledge of their biology. Of these, the family Caeculidae (Arachnida: Trombidi-formes) represents a new record for the Maltese Islands, on the basis of Microcaeculus sp. occurring in a nest of Camponotus barbaricus Emery, 1905. Preliminary results indicate that Messor nests may be repositories of considerable myrmecophile diversity, with the most unique symbionts.
The Central Asian representatives of the spider genus Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 (Araneae, Nemesiidae) are revised. The genus is found to encompass 29 regional species: ♀ Raveniola afghana sp. nov. (Afghanistan), ♂♀ R. alajensis sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), ♂ R. caudata Zonstein, 2009 (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. concolor Zonstein, 2000 (India), ♂♀ R. cucullata sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. diluta sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. dolosa sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. fedotovi (Charitonov, 1946) (Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. ferghanensis (Zonstein, 1984) (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. hirta sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. ignobilis sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂ R. inopinata sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂ R. insolita sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♀ R. karategensis sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. kirgizica sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan), ♂ R. kopetdaghensis (Fet, 1984) (Turkmenistan), ♂♀ R. mikhailovi Zonstein, 2021 (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. nenilini sp. nov. (Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. ornata sp. nov. (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. ornatula sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂ R. ovchinnikovi sp. nov. (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), ♂♀ R. pallens sp. nov. (Uzbekistan), ♂♀ R. pamira sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♂♀ R. redikorzevi (Spassky, 1937) (Turkmenistan), ♀ R. sororcula sp. nov. (Tajikistan), ♀ R. tarabaevi sp. nov. (Kazakhstan), ♂♀ R. virgata (Simon, 1891), the type species of the genus (Kyrgyzstan), ♂♀ R. vulpina sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan) and ♂♀ R. zyuzini sp. nov. (Uzbekistan). Redescriptions of eight previously described species are given, the descriptions of 21 above-listed new species are provided, and the female of R. redikorzevi is described for the first time. All mentioned species are assigned herein to four species groups (including two of them previously separated and another two newly established ones), which are confined exclusively to the region. Keys to the species groups and included species, as well as data on their variation, distribution and habitats, are provided.
We present a checklist of spiders inhabiting the Pelagie archipelago and Pantelleria island, in the Strait of Sicily (Southern Italy). Data were compiled from both literature sources and unpublished materials stored in museum collections. In total, we report new data on 100 species, bringing the total number of species documented for the islands of the Strait of Sicily to 148. Among these, 8 are new for Europe and 9 new for Italy. The island of Lampedusa hosts the highest number of species (107), followed by Pantelleria (63) and Linosa (25). The most represented families are Gnaphosidae in Lampedusa and Linosa, while Salticidae is dominant in Pantelleria. Most of the species present on the islands of the Strait of Sicily have a Holarctic distribution. Several rare species are recorded, including Haplodrassus crassipes (Lucas, 1846), Palliduphantes labilis (Simon, 1913) and Xysticus promiscuus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876. In addition, the female of Poecilochroa loricata Kritscher, 1996 (Gnaphosidae) is here described and illustrated for the first time. As revealed by the study of the species-area relationship, the islands of the Strait of Sicily host a higher number of species compared to other small islands in Italy. Accordingly, species richness recorded in Lampedusa and Linosa is higher than expected, while further investigations are suggested to increase knowledge of the local spider diversity.
Previously overlooked material of Nemesia rastellata Wunderlich, 2011, collected at the type locality and present in the collection of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main, is here described. This description provides important new information for taxonomical recognition of the species and the first observations on intraspecific variations in size and shape in N. rastellata. Additionally, aspects of male morphology in Nemesia trapdoor spiders are discussed from a functional perspective.
Bisher übersehenes Material von Nemesia rastellata Wunderlich, 2011, gesammelt an der Typuslokalität und Teil der Sammlung des Senckenberg Museums in Frankfurt am Main, wird in dieser Arbeit beschrieben. Die Beschreibung enthält wichtige neue Information für die taxonomische Bestimmung der Art und die ersten Beobachtungen zu intraspezifischen Variationen von Größe und Form innerhalb N. rastellata. Zusätzlich werden Aspekte der männlichen Morphologie von Falltürspinnen der Gattung Nemesia aus funktionaler Perspektive diskutiert.
