N. bidentatum Roewer, 1914 was found at two places in Germany: first on the island “Harriersand” in the Weser river (Lower Saxony), second on the banks of the river Elbe in the Elbsandsteingebirge (Saxony). Adjacent to the latter locality an occurrence in the Czech Republic could be located close to the German/Czech border in the floodplain of the river Elbe as well. These records are the first for Germany and the Czech Republic. They enlarge the distribution area of N. bidentatum remarkably in both a northern and a western direction. The two populations show conspicuous differences in the form of the male cheliceral apophysis, which assigns them to the subspecies bidentatum Roewer, 1914 (in Lower Saxony) and sparsum Gruber & Martens, 1968 (in Saxony and the Czech Republik respectively). Differences, morphological characters and variability of the populations are illustrated. Relationships, abundance, ecology and provenance are discussed. N. dentigerum Canestrini, 1873 is recorded in Saxony for the first time. New records of N. triste C. L. Koch, 1835 and N. lugubre (Müller, 1776) are given.

Chthonius heterodactylus Tömösváry, 1882 is recorded for the first time from the Czech Republic (Hranická chasm). The occurence of this Carpathian species in Central Europe is discussed and the positions of the type localities are corrected.

book review: Sven Almquist (2007): Swedish Araneae, part 2 – families Dictynidae to Salticidae.

book review: Alain Canard (2005): Catalogue of spider species from Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Parts I & II.

book review: Paul D. Hillyard (2005): Harvestmen. Keys and notes for the identification of British species.

book review: Rudy Jocqué & Ansie S. Dippenaar-Schoeman (2006): Spider families of the world.

anniversary, Jürgen Gruber

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The development and present status of arachnology at the Senckenberg-Museum (Frankfurt) are critically reviewed. Extended periods of care and maintenance were followed, from 1955 onwards, by flourishing decades, including considerable enlargement of the collections. One of the most complete libraries in the field originated from this time. Progress culminated in the arrangement of meetings and finally of international congresses, including the foundation of what is now the International Society of Arachnology (formerly C.I.D.A.). Data on some relevant authors such as Roewer and Wiehle are included.

The first two records of Zoropsis spinimana (Dufour, 1820) in Germany are presented together with a further discovery of the species in Central Switzerland. A spreading of the species from South to North along traffic routes is supposed and climate change is suggested as a possible reason for the species establishing itself in Central Europe.

A new feature on the tip of the palp, which enables the separation of male Trochosa spinipalpis (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1895) from T. terricola Thorell, 1856, is described. T. terricola exhibits a hairless strip on the tip of the palp, while T. spinipalpis lacks this feature and has long hairs on the whole palp.

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