European Spider of the Year 2007

The genus Araeoncoides Wunderlich, 1969, containing a single species A. berolinensis Wunderlich, 1969, is revised and transferred to the genus Moebelia Dahl, 1886 (nov. syn.). The female is described for the first time. All six known records are reported. Distribution, habitat and phenology are discussed. Until now, records are known exclusively from Germany.

In the Solling mountains (Southern Lower Saxony, Germany) a block design study was carried out in 18 old (> 90 yrs) and middle-aged (58 - 89 yrs) spruce, beech, and mixed forest stands (spruce/beech), arranged in six blocks, each consisting of a spruce, a beech, and a mixed forest stand, to investigate the effect of the forest stand type on the diversity and structure of epigeic macrofauna communities. In each age class, the fauna was sampled for one year by means of soil core samples, ground photo eclectors, and pitfall traps. The results for the harvestmen presented in this contribution focus on pitfall trap catches. In each age class, the numbers of individuals of the harvestmen species and the species density as well as the cover and diversity of the ground vegetation were significantly highest in the more open spruce or spruce and mixed forest stands, according to a nonparametrical twofactorial analysis of variance. Important extrinsic factors influencing the diversity and structure of the harvestmen communities are habitat diversity, stratification of the vegetation, and space for locomotory activity. Additionally, in the present study information about the phenology of the harvestmen species is given. In the Solling mountains 16 harvestmen species have been recorded to date.

The wolf spider Pardosa schenkeli Lessert, 1904 was since long regarded as occurring in Germany and Poland but is excluded from the recent checklist of spiders found in these countries. Re-examination of material collected in Germany and Poland, respectively, verifies its presence in both countries. Characters for distinguishing P. schenkeli and its ally P. bifasciata (C.L. Koch, 1834) are given and illustrated.

In the Solling mountains (Southern Lower Saxony, Germany) the fauna was sampled for one year with stem eclectors in adjacent spruce, mixed (spruce/beech), and beech stands. The tree age was more than 90 years. Four sampling treatments were established: eclectors on spruce stems in the spruce stand (1), on beech stems in the beech stand (2), and on spruce (3) and beech stems in the mixed stand (4). The following harvestmen species, with 1601 individuals in total, were found: Mitopus morio, Oligolophus tridens, Platybunus bucephalus, Leiobunum blackwalli, and Leiobunum rotundum. The number of individuals was highest on spruce stems in the more open spruce stand, mainly due to Mitopus morio, whereas number of species was highest on beech stems in the mixed stand. Both the number of individuals and species were lowest on beech stems in the beech stand. Here, additional information about the phenology of the harvestmen species is given.

book review: Martin Kreuels & Sascha Buchholz (2006): Ökologie, Verbreitung und Gefährdungsstatus der Webspinnen Nordrhein-Westfalens – Erste überarbeitete Fassung der Roten Liste der Webspinnen (Arachnida: Araneae).

book review: Christo Deltshev & Pavel Stoev (eds) (2006): European Arachnology 2005, Acta zoologica bulgaria, Suppl. No. 1; Proceedings of the 22nd European Colloquium of Arachnology, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, 1-6 August 2005

congress report

congress report

anniversary

Adult females of the five Central European wolf spiders Trochosa hispanica Simon, 1870, T. robusta (Simon, 1876), T. ruricola (DeGeer, 1778), T. spinipalpis (F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1895), and T. terricola Thorell, 1856 were morphologically analysed. We defined sets of continuous and binary (presence/absence) variables. Continuous data of various epigynal and carapace dimensions were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Using the PC loadings each individual was plotted along the PC axis in order to find gaps(overlaps between the species. The binary data sets were subjected to Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) in order to find characters that clearly separate the five Trochosa species. Using PCA only individuals of T.robusta and T.ruricola and of T.robusta and T.hispanica could be separated from each other. Using HCA all five species could clearly be separated by epigynal and vulval characteristics."

The orthognath spiders Atypus affinis Eichwald, 1830 and A. piceus (Sulzer, 1776) are morphologically and biologically similar. One of the few sites where both species live syntopically is located in the Kaiserstuhl Mountains in south-west Germany. This has been shown in a continuous 22 year long-term study of the recolonisation of vineyard slopes after large-scale land consolidation. The males of both species differ in size and the annual timing of their surface activity. The recolonisation history of A. affinis and A. piceus was recorded. As typical K-strategists, their population sizes have increased slowly. Today they are still growing. Atypus species can be used as models regarding problems of nature conservation, since they are particularly endangered by large-scale and catastrophic habitat changes as a result of their long generation time. In the Kaiserstuhl such catastrophic events could include fire management, which has recently been permitted again for the preservation of the slopes.

According to Platnick (2006) the taxa Drassodes lapidosus (Walckenaer, 1802), the type species of the genus Drassodes (Westring, 1851), and Drassodes cupreus (Blackwall, 1834) are two valid species. However Grimm (1985) merged them into one taxon. Different taxonomists have separated these species by the positions of the teeth in the frontal margin of the chelicerae and by the proportions of the palpal segments in males. Females are separated by the proportions of different features in the epigyne. The altitude at which they occur is used for separation, too. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether these characteristics really allow the separation of these two taxa. In order to solve these taxonomical problem, 116 male and 108 female specimens from Central Europe were examined. The variation of the mentioned characters is shown. Spearman's rho correlations and factor analyses are presented. The results show that there are transitions between the two taxa D. lapidosus and D. cupreus and, thus, they cannot be separated using the diagnostic features currently available.

book review: Sven Almquist (2005): Swedish Araneae, part 1 – families Atypidae to Hahniidae (Linyphiidae excluded)

book review: Matt E. Braunwalder (2005): Scorpiones (Arachnida)

book review: Bernd Rieken (2003): Arachne und ihre Schwestern