Hidden in the wrack: spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity and new records for Italy from Posidonia banquettes

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  Hidden in the wrack: spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity and new records for Italy from Posidonia banquettes ABSTRACT Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile beach wrack deposits (banquettes) are a characteristic coastal habitat of the Mediterranean Sea, yet their invertebrate communities remain poorly studied. Here we report the results of a survey from January to November 2024 of the spider fauna (Order Araneae) associated with Posidonia banquettes at Sant’Agostino beach (Civitavecchia, Latium, central Italy), using four complementary sampling methods (surface and underground pitfall traps, Berlese-Tullgren funnel extraction, and visual census). A total of 161 specimens were collected, with 17 species assigned to 11 families among adult individuals. The dominant families were Argyronetidae (39.4%), represented exclusively by Chaerea maritimus Simon, 1885, and Gnaphosidae (33.8%). Three species are recorded for the first time in Italy: Dysdera gamarrae Ferrández 1984, Gnaphosa jucu...

Egg-Carrying and Cheliceral Comb in Ibaloniinae Harvestmen From the Solomon Islands (Opiliones: Podoctidae)

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Egg-Carrying and Cheliceral Comb in Ibaloniinae Harvestmen From the Solomon Islands (Opiliones: Podoctidae)

ABSTRACT

Four new species of Ibaloniinae harvestmen are described from the Solomon Islands, Melanesia. Based on the original diagnosis of Euibalonius Roewer, 1915, and description of E. maculatus (Roewer, 1915), this material appeared related to that genus. However, examination of syntype photographs of the type species E. maculatus confirmed the validity of Euibalonius, here revalidated from the synonymy of Ibalonius Karsch, 1880, while simultaneously revealing that the Solomon Islands specimens differ substantially from E. maculatus and cannot be accommodated in that genus. The new genus Kakamora gen. nov. is therefore described for the Solomon Islands material. A revised diagnosis of Euibalonius is provided, and a key to the known species of the genus Kakamora is presented. All newly described species bear a cheliceral comb, a structure only recently documented in Podoctidae, and which we also record here for two additional Ibaloniinae species, suggesting broader occurrence within the subfamily. In one of the new species, males were found carrying eggs firmly attached to their femora and tibiae, a behaviour here interpreted as paternal care. This represents a further case of egg carrying by male podoctids, offering a counterpoint to previous doubts about the meaning of this behaviour in the family.

Kury, A. B., Machado, G., Buzatto, B. A., Kekeubata, E., & Medrano, M. (2026). Egg-Carrying and Cheliceral Comb in Ibaloniinae Harvestmen From the Solomon Islands (Opiliones: Podoctidae). Austral Entomology, 65(3), e70075. https://doi.org/10.1111/aen.70075