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...

On two wolf spiders from Yintiaoling Nature Reserve of Chongqing, China (Araneae, Lycosidae)

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On two wolf spiders from Yintiaoling Nature Reserve of Chongqing, China (Araneae, Lycosidae)

Abstract

Two spiders of the wolf spider family Lycosidae from high altitude area (>1900 m) of Yintiaoling Nature Reserve are presented here, including a new species, Trochosa alpina sp. nov. (male, female) and a poorly known species, Alopecosa pseudocuneata (Schenkel, 1953). The new species is similar to the Holarctic congener, T. ruricola (De Geer, 1778) and Alopecosa pseudocuneata is quite similar to the Palaearctic species, Alopecosa cuneata (Clerck, 1757). Description / redescription, diagnoses, photos and illustrations of these two species are given. Photos of A. cuneata are provided for comparison purposes.

Zhang, X.-Y. and Zhang, Z.-S. (2025) “On two wolf spiders from Yintiaoling Nature Reserve of Chongqing, China (Araneae, Lycosidae)”, Zootaxa. Auckland, New Zealand, 5652(1), pp. 95–102. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5652.1.11.