Hidden diversity in plain sight: four new species of Nemesia (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) from the Córdoba Province of Spain

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  Hidden diversity in plain sight: four new species of Nemesia (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) from the Córdoba Province of Spain Abstract A taxonomic revision of the species of Nemesia Audouin, 1826, distributed in the vicinity of Córdoba City, southern Spain, is presented. Four new species are described: Nemesia morana sp. nov. (female), N. kodama sp. nov. (male and female), N. rosae sp. nov. (male and female), and N. tamajoni sp. nov. (male and female). These species are distinguished by distinct morphological characters, including the shape of the spermathecae, palpal bulbs, and spinnerets, as well as by burrow architecture. Fieldwork was conducted across two of the three major habitat types in the region—the humid, forested mountains of Sierra Morena and the croplands and riparian forests of the Guadalquivir Valley—while the third, the “campiña”, which is mainly composed of agricultural landscapes, remains poorly explored. Sampling methods included pitfall trapping and the direct e...

Expanding the horizon: Discovery of two new spider species of the Pholcus phungiformes species group (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Inner Mongolia, China, with a new western record for the group

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Expanding the horizon: Discovery of two new spider species of the Pholcus phungiformes species group (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Inner Mongolia, China, with a new western record for the group

Abstract

The spiders of the Pholcus phungiformes species group are primarily distributed across five mountain ranges in East Asia: the Lüliang Mountains and the Yanshan-Taihang Mountains in North China, the transitional uplands between the Yanshan-Taihang and Changbai Mountains, the Changbai Mountains straddling the China-North Korea border, and the Taebaek-Sobaek Mountains on the Korean Peninsula. In this study, we report the first records of this group from Inner Mongolia, northern China, describing two new species: Pholcus alashan Wang & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀, from Alashan Zuoqi) and P. chifeng Yan & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀, from Chifeng). The discovery of P. alashan sp. nov. extends the group’s western distribution limit by 5.2° longitude (from c. 111.0°E to 105.8°E), representing a significant zoogeographic range expansion.

Yan M, Liu Y, Wang L, Yao Z (2026) Expanding the horizon: Discovery of two new spider species of the Pholcus phungiformes species group (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Inner Mongolia, China, with a new western record for the group. ZooKeys 1275: 333-343. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1275.186998