Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy

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  Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy The orb-weaver genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 has historically served as a heterogeneous assemblage for numerous araneid spiders lacking clear generic placement, and several Asian species formerly assigned to Araneus have subsequently been transferred to more narrowly defined genera. One species that still needs further investigation on its true identity is Araneus nox (Simon, 1877), originally described as Epeira nox Simon, 1877 from Basilan Island, Philippines, and later transferred to Araneus by Simon (1905). In the same year as the description of Epeira nox, Thorell (1877) described Epeira pilula from the Moluccas (Indonesia), which was subsequently synonymised under Epeira nox by Simon (1880). Despite its broad Oriental distribution, the taxonomic identity and generic placement of A. nox have remained insuff...

First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland

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First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland

Abstract

The alien spider species Pandava laminata (Thorell, 1878) (Titanoecidae) is reported from the Nordic Region for the first time, based on a single female specimen collected in an apartment in Turku, Southwest Finland. Widely distributed in its potentially native range from East Africa through China to New Guinea and Polynesia, this species has previously been introduced to central, western and northwestern Europe through the import of ornamental plants. The specimen is illustrated with photographs, and a synopsis of obligatory synanthropic, alien, and stowaway spider species reported from Finland is provided. Additionally, previous Finnish records of introduced black widow spiders identified as Latrodectus sp. and L. mactans (Fabricius, 1775) are reattributed here to L. hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 (Theridiidae) based on the geographical origin of the vector.

Zamani, A. & Koponen, S. (2025). First Nordic record of Pandava laminata (Araneae: Titanoecidae), with a synopsis of anthropochorous species of spiders in Finland. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 69: 5-9. doi:10.30963/aramit6903