SANSA NEWS South African National Survey of Arachnida

No. 22 OCT-DEC 2014

CONGRATULATIONS

Leon Lotz (left) was awarded his Inside this issue: PhD degree in entomology at the December 2014 graduation cere- Congratulations……….…...……....1 mony at the University of the Free New appointment………...…. …....1 State in Bloemfontein. Charles SANSA HIGHLIGHTS 2014 ……..2 Haddad (right) was his study Congresses ………………..…….. .2 promoter, and Ansie Dippenaar- open day……...…………....2 Schoeman his co-promoter. His Courses/workshop………..…….....3 research formed part of a project Field trips………………………...4-5 spanning nearly two decades that Books/poster…………………….....5 continued work done during his Factsheets………..………………...6 MSc study. Virtual Museum…………………….6 Other research activities…………..7 His thesis, titled THE New taxa………………………….8-9 AFROTROPICAL SPECIES OF Did you know……………………...10 THE SAC SPIDER GENERA Publications………………………..11 CHEIRACANTHIUM AND CHEIRAMIONA (ARANEAE: EUTICHURIDAE), makes an important contribution to a better understanding of the biodiversity of Eutichuridae sac in the Afrotropical Region. Sac spiders

are a significant group from a Editors and coordinators: medical and agricultural perspec-

Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman tive, and through his work, Leon provides the taxonomic basis to ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute facilitate the accurate identifica- Private Bag X134 tion of these spiders. His work Leon Lotz and Charles Haddad Queenswood includes the redescription of 19 0121 species and descriptions of 40 South new species of Cheiracanthium, E-mail: [email protected] and the redescription of eight scriptive papers that have already been published since 1999, species and description of 41 new several additional papers have been submitted for publication Charles Haddad species of Cheiramiona. Apart recently, dealing with both genera. Department of Zoology & Entomology from several revisionary and de- University of the Free State P.O. Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300 NEW APPOINTMENT AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM E-mail: [email protected] Jan-Andries Neethling submitted his MSc thesis at the end of January 2015, titled REVI- SION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GE- OGARYPIDAE (ARACHNIDA: PSEUDO- SCORPIONES). He has subsequently taken SA SPIDER up a position as a Researcher in the Depart- ment of Arachnology at the National Museum COUNT in Bloemfontein, where he will continue taxo- nomic work on South African pseudoscorpi- JANUARY 2015 ons.

2171spider spp. SANSA NEWS 22

SANSA HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2014

1. CONGRESSES ATTENDED Symposium of Contemporary Conservation Practices in Howick 11th AFRAS Colloquium

The Spider Unit of the ARC was invited to attend a Symposium of A SANSA session was held at the 11th Colloquium of the African Arach- Contemporary Conservation Practices held at Howick in KZN from nological Society in the Free State in January 2014. Ten papers and 3-7 November. A special session on invertebrate conservation was posters on the activities of SANSA were presented. organised at the symposium, and some of the delegates were sponsored by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation. A talk on SANSA and the way forward was presented to attendees.

5th Annual Diamond Route Research Conference in Johannesburg

The SANSA team consist- ing of Robin Lyle and Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman at- tended the conference and presented two posters on the surveys in Ezemvelo Nature Reserve and other surveys in Gauteng.

2. SANSA OPEN DAY IN IRENE

A Spider Open Day was held on 1 November 2014 in the Irene Village Hall, Gauteng. The aim of the day was to generate interest in the Spiders in Cities Monitoring project. It was well attended, and the following activi- ties and demonstrations took place.

 How to photograph spiders, by top macro-photographer Peter Webb.  How to participate in the SANSA project and surveys.  How to submit images to the SANSA Virtual Museum.  Books and posters were for sale, and factsheets and newsletters on spiders were distributed by the Spider Unit of the ARC-PPRI.  Display of posters on research activities presently undertaken by the Jonathan Leeming from Venom- SANSA teams. Works telling the people about and the various cours-  For the children, a drawing competition with some grand prizes. es he presents to the public.  Tea and coffee were served, and the funds will go towards spider research.

Talks on spiders were presented by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman and Peter Webb on the “Wonder world of spiders” and the “Spiders presently known from Irene”. The first poster on the spiders of Irene was on display. Sma Mathebula and a visitor with some of the SANSA books and The Spider Club of , lead by Astri Leroy and Joan Faiola, posters that were for sale. told the public more about the club’s activities. Jonathan Leeming, from VenomWorks, informed the public about his courses on scorpions and venomous . Robin Lyle and Sma Mathebula represented the Spider Unit of the ARC. 2 SANSA NEWS 22

SANSA HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED

3. COURSES AND WORKSHOPS PRESENTED

Sorting workshops in Pretoria Para-ecologist workshop in Grahamstown

Members of the Spider Club of Southern Africa once again joined the Unit of Biosystematics to sort and identify specimens during An “Introduction to Spiders and other Arachnids” workshop was pre- July and August. The workshops were held over a day, and the pur- sented by Robin Lyle to six para-ecologists of the South African Na- pose was twofold. The first was to sort and identify specimens from tional Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) as part of their Threatened Spe- Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in Johannesburg, and the second was cies Programme (TSP). to work through the backlog of unsorted material from the Iimbovane Project.

Spider bite course in Cape Town Spider course for SANBI interns in Pretoria

A three day spider identification course was presented at Biosystemat- Drs Gerbus Műller (right) and Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman (left) were ics on spiders to five interns of the South African Biodiversity Institute asked to present a course on Spiders and Spider Bites at Stellen- (SANBI), and to two of the technical personnel at ARC. These interns bosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Poison are actively part of the National Species List and Encyclopedia of Life Information Centre on 28 October 2014. They are pictured here with projects with SANBI. Norman Larsen (back), amateur arachnologist and photographer from Cape Town.

VENOM POISON INFORMATION CENTRE

For any questions concerning spider bites and stings and the treatment of the wounds please contact the Tygerberg Poison Information Centre:

Tel: 021 931 6129 E-mail: [email protected]

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SANSA HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED

4. FIELD TRIPS UNDERTAKEN Ezemvelo Nature Reserve, Gauteng Aardvark Nature Reserve Biodiversity Conser- vation Area, Western Cape

As part of the SANSA Grassland Project, a bio-blitz survey was undertaken in April 2014 at the Ezemvelo Nature Reserve The Arachnid Unit was invited to sample spiders at the Aard- (ENR), one of the Diamond Route Reserves near Bronk- vark Nature Reserve Biodiversity Conversation Area near Riv- horstspruit. ersdale, Western Cape Province in February 2014. Rudy Jocqué and his wife Elizabeth accompanied them. Tswaing Crater Nature Reserve, Gauteng Groenkloof Nature Reserve, Gauteng

A SANSA team consisting of Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, Peter Webb, and Vida van der Walt visited the Tswaing Crater The SANSA team are conducting a survey at the Groenkloof Nature Reserve (TCNR) in April 2014 to sample spiders. Nature Reserve as part of the Grassland Project.

Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve, Gauteng Irene grassland, Gauteng

A SANSA team consisting of Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, A survey in and around Irene, a village in Centurion, Gauteng, Peter Webb, and Vida van der Walt visited the Roodeplaat is presently underway as part of SANSA. It is being conducted Dam Nature Reserve in May 2014 to sample spiders. by Peter Webb and Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman. 4 SANSA NEWS 22

SANSA HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED Bio-blitz on the farm Zandrivier, Limpopo Collecting around Cape Town

A bio-blitz was undertaken on the farm Zandriver in Lephahlale. Peter Webb went along to sample arachnids. All collected speci- mens were identified by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, and the mate- rial is deposited in the NCA. . A SANSA team consisting of Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, Peter Webb, and Vida van der Walt visited Cape Town and sampled 11 sites around Cape Town during October 2014. 5. NEW BOOKS AND POSTER

Field guide to the Spiders of South Africa Spiders of the Grassland Biome ISBN: 978-0-7993-6018-9 ISBN: 13-978-1-86849-429-3 AUTHOR: Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman AUTHORS: Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman and Charles Haddad Plant Protection Research Institute Hand- A1 full-colour laminated wall posters available book No.19, Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria; 2014: 120 pp.

An illustrated guide to the spiders of South Africa, which can be used to identify the various families, is available on request from MANUAL TO IDENTIFY THE COMMON SPIDER FAMILIES OF SOUTH AFRICA the Spider Unit at the ARC. Contact Robin Lyle at [email protected]. Compiled by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman and Robin Lyle ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute 2014 Highlights 2014 compiled by Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman at [email protected]

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6. NEW FACTSHEETS

Owing to the high number of queries received about spiders, the Spider Unit has decided to produce a factsheet series on those most frequently enquired about. Seven factsheets are available for download from the ARC website (http://www.arc.agric.za/arc-ppri/Pages/ Biosystematics/SANSA.aspx).

The following factsheets are now available on the SANSA website.  Black-legged golden orb-web spiders  Red-legged golden orb-web spiders  Banded legged golden orb-web spiders  Rain spiders  Common black button spiders  Brown button spiders  Violin spiders  House sac spiders

Contact: Robin Lyle at [email protected]

7. VIRTUAL MUSEUM

We have experienced many problems in the display of the VIRTUAL MUSEUM due to the upgrading of websites and the databases at the ARC. Currently, the ARC ICT department is finalising the upgrade process, which we hope will be completed soon.

Although not displaying correctly, data is regularly being added to the database and

the virtual museum is still growing rapidly. P. Webb

The site can be visited by searching for SANSA Virtual Museum.

Unfortunately, not all spiders can be identified to species level. The main reason for this is the importance of examining the genitalia for a species identification. With the Pachyballus sp. from Centurion more common species, a specific identification is more easily provided. If possible, the photographers must also try to collect the specimens, as this will assist in con- firming the species identification - especially when it is a rare specimen. We make use of a team of experts to help with the identifications, and frequently we receive the answer “possibly new and species” from the specialists. So those collect- ed specimens, along with the photograph, are very important. Collected specimens also assist in the description purposes. Below is a table with the number of records already recorded (Table 1).

Entries make a very important contribution to SANSA in documenting the distribu- tion, behaviour, and colour patterns of the spiders. This information is extensively P. Webb used in research, as shown in a recent article on the prey behaviour of crab spiders.

Thanks again to all the photographers for their very important contributions! New araneid from Irene

Table 1: Number of photographs received from the different provinces included in the Virtual Museum.

NO. LOCALITIES NO. RECORDS Gauteng 83 1558

Free State 30 412 C.Hamilton KwaZulu-Natal 65 300

Limpopo 73 485 Chumma sp. from Plettenberg Bay Mpumalanga 57 185 Northern Cape 36 115 North West 24 68 Western Cape 110 363

Eastern Cape 38 379 Jubber W. 478 3865

Contact: A.S. Dippenaar-Schoeman at [email protected] Evippomma sp. 6 SANSA NEWS 22

SANSA HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED

8. OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

SCORPIONS OF THE SOUTPANSBERG

Researchers at the University of Venda recently published two papers based on work that was done as part of SANSA. The first details scorpion diversity patterns along the Soutpansberg Mountain Transect. This transect has a north-south orientation across the highest peak (Lajuma) of the Sout- pansberg mountain range. The mountain range is a series of homoclinal ridges with contrasting climatic conditions. The study highlighted the im- portance of aspect and elevation in explaining scorpion diversity, the unique overlap of several faunal components on the Soutpansberg mountains, the importance of the arid northern aspect and, in particular, the northern foot- hills for scorpion conservation.

REFERENCE

FOORD, S.H., GELEBE, V. & PRENDINI, L. 2015. Effects of aspect and altitude on scorpion diversity along an environmental gradient in the Sout- pansberg, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 113: 114-120. Opistophthalmus lawrencei – One of the two scorpion species along the transect, and which is endemic to the Soutpansberg mountain range. The species is mostly restricted to the mid- elevations of the northern aspect.

BIODIVERSITY VALUE OF AFROMONTANE FOREST PATCHES WITHIN KWAZULU-NATAL TIMBER PRODUCTION AREAS

Arthropod diversity value of natural forest patches in timber production landscape in the Midlands region of KwaZulu-Natal was investigated. Key questions addressed include: 1) effect of the surrounding matrix (grassland or pine plantation) on communities within forest patches; 2) effect of forest patch isolation and patch size on natural forest arthropod diversity; 3) response of arthropod functional guilds to forest patch size, isolation and matrix type; 4) do pine plantations pro- vide an alternative habitat for natural forest specialist species? were collected from two plantation estates, over two sam- pling occasions (January and May 2014). Sixty sites were selected: 10 natural forests adjacent to pine plantation, 10 natural forests adjacent to grassland, 40 natural forest patches with different sizes (small and large) and different degrees of isolation (close and distant patches). Three sampling techniques were used; pitfall traps, leaf litter sampling - Berlese funnels and active searches. To date, only the first key ques- tion has been addressed: effect of the surrounding matrix on natural forest arthropod assemblages. This shows that not only are assem- blages different between pine plantations, natural forests and grass- lands (as expected) but assemblages also change within natural forest patches when compared between the two surrounding matrices (pine or grassland). Collected arthropods include ants, beetles, spiders, scorpions, mites, cockroaches, and millipedes. A total of 4957 individ- Fig. 1: Example of study sites with two transects, one running from the uals from 244 morphospecies were collected. Highest family abun- natural forest into a pine block, and another one running from natural dance was from the Formicidae (59.2%) and the lowest was from forest into grassland. Hemiscorpiidae (0.02%). The order Coleoptera had high species rich- ness (38.1%), followed by Araneae (28.3%); and family Hemiscorpi- idae (0.4%) had the lowest species richness. Epigynum of possible new Rhaeboctesis sp. () Inam Yekwayo, from the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University, a PhD student under Dr James Pryke.

SPIDER RESULTS

A total of 246 spiders were sampled, represented by 33 families and 102 species. A few species sampled might be new to science.

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NEW TAXA

Crab spider revision: Mystaria

The spider genera Mystaria Simon 1895, and Paramystaria Lessert, 1919 were re- vised. About 400 individuals were studied. The approach followed was classical taxon- omy using illustrated sexual dimorphic copulatory characters and described morpho- logical characters, photographed or measured. Paramystaria is considered a junior synonym of Mystaria. Mystaria now contains 13 well-defined species, four of which are in new generic combinations. Four males are described for the first time, and eight are new species.

New species from South Africa:  Mystaria irmatrix (Mozambique, South Africa)  M. lindaicapensis (South Africa)  M. mnyama (South Africa)  M. savannensis (, South Africa, Zambia, ).

Members of the genus Mystaria are plant dwellers and are well known only from the Afrotropical region. Geographical records show their range to extend from in the north, Republic of Guinea in the west, along the eastern coast to the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. They commonly hang from their own silk threads from foli- age.

REFERENCE

HONIBALL-LEWIS, A. & DIPPENAAR-SCHOEMAN, A.S. 2014. Revision of the spider genus Mystaria Simon, 1895 (Araneae: ) and the description of a new genus from the Afrotropical region. Zootaxa 3873: 101-144.

Contact: A.S. Dippenaar-Schoeman at [email protected]

Mystaria spp. Photo P. Webb Festucula – grass jumping spiders revised

The second paper provides a revision of the jumping spider genus Festucula (Salticidae). The study was led by Galina Azarkina, and it contributes to the growing contemporary literature on jumping spider , the spider family that is fast becoming the mainstay of spider diversity in Africa.

A total of 287 Festucula specimens were examined. The genus now contains eight species, of which three, all newly described, are known from South Africa. They are medium-sized spiders (total length 4.7 to 9.2 mm). Sexes are alike in general body shape and colouration, only sometimes with sexual dimorphism in size. Stridulatory organs are present in both sexes and represent a leg/carapace stridulatory mecha- nism, with narrow band of 7–9 seta-bearing tubercles on the carapace below the lat- eral eyes and 4–6 seta-bearing tubercles on the prolateral surface of femora of leg I.

The genus has a strong association with grasses and displays several co-evolved, adaptive characteristics, such as a very elongate abdomen, a flat carapace, and light- to dark brown longitudinal bands along the carapace and abdomen, all of which aid crypsis in grasses. It seems that evolutionary selection for these adaptive traits has been strong in grasslands, as they have independently evolved in several other unre- lated spider genera typically found in habitats dominated by graminoids, including Runcinia (Thomisidae), Tibellus (Philodromidae), Poachelas (Trachelidae) and Chari- obas (Zodariidae).

The South African species are:  Festucula haddadi from the eastern part of South Africa, mainly KwaZulu-Natal, with Ndumo Game Reserve as type locality;  F. leroyae from South Africa and Botswana, which is very common in the Grass- land Biome, with Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve as the type locality;  F. robustus known only from Krugersdorp in Gauteng. Festucula haddadi from Pongola Photo: V. vd Walt

REFERENCE Contact: Stefan Foord at Azarkina, G.N., Foord, S.H. 2014. A revision of the Afrotropical species of Festucula [email protected] Simon, 1901 (Araneae: Salticidae). African Invertebrates 55: 351–375.

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MORE ON A NEW ASCEUA SP. (ZODARIIDAE) IN SOUTH AFRICA

A record of an Asceua sp. (identified by Rudy Jocque) has been identified from the Dwesa Forest areas in the Eastern Cape. This species has been collected from several localities along the Wild Coast, including St Lucia, Kei Mouth, Cwebe Nature Reserve, Coffee Bay and Mazeppa Bay. Representatives of the genus Asceua are recognised by the narrow cymbium (male) and the superficially intricately wound ducts in the epigyne (female). Their small size and the absence of spines (except one or two dorsal spines on the femora) are additional characters.

They are small ant-like spiders (2.5-4.5 mm) with a relatively high, oval carapace, without cervical grooves; highest point in profile between PME and fovea. Teguments smooth or finely granulated. Colour: Carapace, chelicerae, and sternum orange to dark brown; legs basically yellow to brown with dark stripes, femora usually with pale base. Abdomen dark grey with pale dorsal patches; venter pale or grey. Eyes in two procurved rows. Legs: formula 4123 or 4132. Spination very poor; at most 1 or 2 dorsal spines on femora. Abdomen oval, with dorsal scutum.

DISTRIBUTION: Tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia; also occurring on oceanic islands (Jocqué 1986a; 1991).

Contact: Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman at [email protected]

REFERENCES

JOCQUÉ, R. 1986. Ant-eating spiders from the (Araneae, Zodariidae). Revue Zo- ologique Africaine 100: 307-312.

JOCQUÉ, R. 1991. A generic revision of the spider family Zodariidae (Araneae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 201: 1-160.

NEW PALFURIA SPP. (ZODARIIDAE)

New Palfuria sp. from Ezemvelo Nature Reserve

NEW SOUTH AFRICAN RECORDS FROM VHEMBE BIOSPHERE RESERVE, LIMPOPO

As part of Colin Schoeman’s PhD project in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, several additional spider species were recorded from South Africa for the first time, based on materi- al collected in Colin’s pitfall trapping survey:

 Zelotes chinguli Fitzpatrick, 2007, known previously from Botswana and Zimbabwe; Palfuria caputlari Szüts & Jocqué, 2001? From the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve  Palfuria caputlan Szüts & Jocqué, 2001, previously in Limpopo known only from , and  Eusparassus jocquei Moradmand, 2013, recently de- scribed from Zimbabwe. Contact: A.S. Dippenaar-Schoeman at [email protected]

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DID YOU KNOW?

The unusual structure of an Argyrodes (Theridiidae) egg sac

Interesting Ariadna sp. from

This spider was sampled by David Jacobs and photo- graphed by Peter

Webb

P. P. Webb

The Ariadna spiders (Araneae: Segestriidae) inhabiting the gravel increased burrow closure by large, but not small or medium-sized, plains of the Central Namib Desert construct individual burrows with a Ariadna sp. They concluded that the flooding event acted as an eco- circular entrance surrounded by a ring of small pebbles; sometimes logical resource pulse for these spiders. they close their burrows with a small stone. In the lichen fields, about 20 km east of Walvis Bay (Namibia), there is a consistent population of Ariadna spiders that can also use pieces of lichen both in the ring REFERENCE composition and as the plug when the burrow is closed. Costa & Conti (2013) sampled and monitored 175 burrows repeatedly between De- COSTA, G. & CONTI, E. 2013. Opening and closing of burrows by the cember 1999 and August 2000. In March 2000, an exceptionally high Namibian spider Ariadna sp. (Araneae: Segestriidae) in a year of rainfall occurred in the Namib, leading to flooding - even in their field- heavy rainfall. Journal of Arachnology 41:215-218. work station. They tested whether, and to what extent, an event of this magnitude could affect burrow closing. They found that the rain event

Prey or floatation device ?

This photographs taken by Lance Bailey from Balito were forwarded to us by Duncan MacFadyen. Apparently, the frog later turned a reddish colour.

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NEW PUBLICATIONS

AZARKINA, G.N., FOORD, S.H. 2014. A revision of the Afrotropical HONIBALL-LEWIS, A. & DIPPENAAR-SCHOEMAN, A.S. 2014. species of Festucula Simon, 1901 (Araneae: Salticidae). African Revision of the spider genus Mystaria Simon, 1895 (Araneae: Invertebrates 55: 351–375. Thomisidae) and the description of a new genus from the Afrotrop- ical region. Zootaxa 3873: 101-144. FOORD, S.H., GELEBE, V. & PRENDINI, L. 2015. Effects of aspect and altitude on scorpion diversity along an environmental gradient KURY, A., MENDES, A. & SOUZA, D. 2014. World checklist of in the Soutpansberg, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments Opiliones species (Arachnida). Part 1: Laniatores – Travunioidea 113: 114-120. and Triaenonychoidea. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e4094.

GAIGHER, R. & SAMWAYS, M.J. 2014. Landscape mosaic attrib- OWEN, C.A., COETZEE, J.A. & VAN NOORT, S. 2014. Distributional utes for maintaining groundliving spider diversity in a biodiversity range of the South African maritime spider-egg parasitoid hotspot. Insect Conservation and Diversity 7: 470–479. wasp, Echthrodesis lamorali (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae: Scelioninae). African Invertebrates 55: 323–332. GIRIBET, G., MCINTYRE, E., CHRISTIAN, E., ESPINASA, L., FER- REIRA, R.L., FRANCKE, O.F., HARVEY, M.S., ISAIA, M., KO- PEKÁR, S. 2014. Is inaccurate mimicry ancestral to accurate in VÁČ, L., MCCUTCHEN, L., SOUZA, M.F.V.R. & ZAGMAJSTER, myrmecomorphic spiders (Araneae)? Biological Journal of the M. 2014. The first phylogenetic analysis of Palpigradi Linnean Society 113: 97–111. (Arachnida) – the most enigmatic arthropod order. Invertebrate Systematics 28: 350–360. WESOŁOWSKA, W. 2014. Further notes on the genus Stenaelurillus Simon, 1885 (Araneae, Salticidae) in Africa with HADDAD, C.R. 2014. A revision of the endemic South African sac descriptions of eight new species. Zoosystema 36: 593–620. spider genus Lessertina Lawrence, 1942 (Araneae: Eutichuridae). Zootaxa 3873: 82–92.

LAST WORD ...

The big spider brother is watching! Best wishes for 2015

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