Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802), araña europea 2026 (Arachnida: Araneae)

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  Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802), araña europea 2026 (Arachnida: Araneae) Abstract Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802) has been chosen by specialists from several European countries as the spider of the year for 2026. It is the only species of the genus Mangora found on the European continent. Thanks to the characteristic color pattern on the dorsal side of the opisthosoma, even juvenile stages can be easily identified. The Iberian Peninsula has abundant records distributed throughout its territory, and therefore the species is not considered threatened.  Fernandez Perez, Jon & Hernández-Corral, Jesús & Prieto, Carlos. (2026). Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802), araña europea 2026 (Arachnida: Araneae). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología. 48. 119-122.  Via ResearchGate

Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya

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Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya

Abstract

Spiniculosa gen. nov. is proposed for two wolf spider species from the Afrotropical Region. One of them was formerly placed in the genus Pardosa, viz. Spiniculosa crassipalpis (Purcell) comb. nov., while the other, S. albida sp. nov., is newly described. These species share traits in the morphology of the male copulatory organs, as well as the males having a row of short spine-like setae proventrally on the first leg coxa and trochanter respectively. Spiniculosa crassipalpis (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia) is redescribed and illustrated, the male palp illustrated for the first time. It is here synonymized with Pardosa upembensis (Roewer, 1959) syn. nov. Spiniculosa albida sp. nov., remarkable for its whitish body coloration, is described on material from a seashore with white sand in Kenya.

Kronestedt, T. (2025) Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya. Zootaxa, 5666 (2), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5666.2.4