The Role of the Southeastern European Mountains as Cradles and Corridors of European Biodiversity: Insights From Agelenid Spiders

Posted by
  The Role of the Southeastern European Mountains as Cradles and Corridors of European Biodiversity: Insights From Agelenid Spiders ABSTRACT Aim The Southeastern European Mountain System (SEEMS) is a well-known glacial refugium for European fauna. Bridging the Mediterranean and Caucasus biodiversity hotspots, it is a melting point for diverse faunal elements, but also a center of origin and subsequent dispersal of a unique component of European biodiversity. Here, we tested the hypothesis of the Southeastern European origin of the agelenid spider genera Inermocoelotes and Urocoras by investigating their phylogeny and biogeography. Location Southeastern Europe (the Balkans, Carpathians, Dinarides), Central/Western Europe, and the Mediterranean basin. Taxon Funnel-web spiders, the genera Inermocoelotes and Urocoras (Araneae: Agelenidae: Coelotinae). Methods We performed molecular phylogenetic analyses, divergence time estimation, and ancestral area reconstruction. To investigate ...

Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

Posted by

 


Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Five new species of the ant-eating spider genus Mallinella from the natural forests of Sri Lanka are described and illustrated: Mallinella dhanahami sp. nov. (male, female), M. milkyway sp. nov. (male, female), M. moncheri sp. nov. (male, female), M. oreo sp. nov. (male, female), and M. truffles sp. nov. (male, female). A key to all the known Mallinella species from Sri Lanka is provided, and their current distribution in Sri Lanka is mapped.

Dayananda, N. & Benjamin, S. P. (2025). Five new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 5570(1): 100-118. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5570.1.4