Ice cage: new records and cryptic, isolated lineages in wingless snow flies (Diptera, Limoniidae: Chionea spp.) in German lower mountain ranges.

In Earth's history warm and cold periods have alternated. Especially, during the Pleistocene, the alternation between these different climatic conditions has led to frequent range expansions and retractions of many species: while thermophilic species dispersed during warm periods, cold adapted species retracted to cold refugia and vice versa. After the last Pleistocene cycle many cold adapted taxa found refuges in relict habitats in mountain ranges. One example for such a cold adapted relict is the flightless snow fly Chionea araneoides (Dalman, 1816). It can be found in lower mountain ranges of Central Europe exclusively in stone runs and stony accumulations which provide cold microclimates. Imagines develop only in winter. They have strongly restricted ranges and hence experienced strong isolation predicting that local populations may show local adaptation and hence also genetic differentiation. We investigated this for several middle mountain ranges of Germany using the COI barcoding gene. Our analyses revealed two distinct lineages, one in the Bavarian Forest and a second one in all other more northern locations up to Scandinavia. These lineages likely go back to post-Pleistocene isolation and should be studied in more detail in the future, also to confirm the taxonomic status of both lineages. Further, we confirmed former records of the species for Germany and report new records for the federal states of Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Finally, we provide the first evidence of two types of males for the species, a small and a larger male type.

ARAapp: filling gaps in the ecological knowledge of spiders using an automated and dynamic approach to analyze systematically collected community data.

The ARAMOB data repository compiles meticulously curated spider community datasets from systematical collections, ensuring a high standard of data quality. These datasets are enriched with crucial methodological data that enable the datasets to be aligned in time and space, facilitating data synthesis across studies, respectively, collections. To streamline the analysis of these datasets in a species-specific context, a suite of tailored ecological analysis tools named ARAapp has been developed. By harnessing the capabilities of ARAapp, users can systematically evaluate the spider species data housed within the ARAMOB repository, elucidating intricate relationships with a range of parameters such as vertical stratification, habitat occurrence, ecological niche parameters (moisture and shading) and phenological patterns. Database URL: ARAapp is available at  www.aramob.de/en.

Revision of the genus Corythalia C.L. Koch, 1850, part 1: Diagnosis and new species from South America (Araneae: Salticidae: Salticinae: Euophryini).

We propose a revision of the spider genus Corythalia C.L. Koch, 1850 (Salticidae: Euophryini) with a revised genus diagnosis based on examination of all species available to us. In this paper we redescribe all previously described species from South America with revised species diagnoses and describe 20 new species from South America (and the nearby islands). For C. latipes, the type species of the genus Corythalia, a neotype is designated. In total, 52 nominal species of the genus are herein treated, 46 species are recognized as valid. The females of C. waleckii Taczanowski, 1871, C. luctuosa Caporiacco, 1954 and C. latipes (C.L. Koch, 1846) are described for the first time. Corythalia sellata Simon, 1901, erroneously considered as nomen nudum in the present version of the World Spider Catalog, is here recognised as a valid species. Corythalia fulgipedia Crane, 1948 is also considered a valid species and is removed from the synonymy of C. tropica (Mello-Leitão, 1939). One name is considered a nomen dubium (Corythalia variegata Caporiacco, 1954), two are nomina nuda (C. major Simon, 1901; C. dimidiata Simon, 1901). Two species are transferred to other genera: C. argyrochrysos (Mello-Leitão, 1946) to Pachomius Peckham Peckham, 1896 as Pachomius argyrochrysos (Mello-Leitão, 1946), comb. nov. and C. heliophanina (Taczanowski, 1871) to Neonella Gertsch, 1936, as Neonella heliophanina (Taczanowski, 1871), comb. nov. under incertae sedis. One species is synonymised: C. barbipes (Mello-Leitão, 1939) is a junior synonym of C. cincta (Badcock, 1932), syn. nov. The new Corythalia species are: C. conferta sp. nov. (♂♀, Brazil), C. concinna sp. nov. (♀, Brazil), C. drepane sp. nov. (♂♀, Brazil), C. drepanopsis sp. nov. (♀, Brazil), C. antepagmenti sp. nov. (♂♀, Brazil), C. ricti Bayer, sp. nov. (♂, Guyana), C. protensa sp. nov. (♂, Brazil), C. gasnieri sp. nov. (♂, Brazil), C. verhaaghi sp. nov. (♀, Brazil), C. scutellaris Bayer, sp. nov. (♂♀, Ecuador), C. dakryodes Bayer, sp. nov. (♀, Colombia), C. foelixi Bayer, sp. nov. (♂♀, French Guiana), C. longiducta sp. nov. (♀, Brazil), C. latior sp. nov. (♂, Bolivia), C. trochophora Bayer, sp. nov. (♂, Ecuador), C. lineata Bayer, sp. nov. (♂, Guyana), C. hamulifera Bayer, sp. nov. (♂, Ecuador), C. tribulosa sp. nov. (♂, Colombia), C. flagrans sp. nov. (♂, Brazil) and C. fragilis sp. nov. (♂♀, Brazil). Illustrations are provided for all of the new species and for all (primary) type specimens of the species re-described. Hypotheses of possible relationships among the different species of Corythalia are discussed.

Spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity in secondary and old-growth southern Atlantic forests of Paraná state, Brazil.

The data presented here have been collected in the southern part of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) in the state of Paraná, Brazil within a bilateral scientific project (SOLOBIOMA). The project aimed to assess the quality of secondary forests of different regeneration stages in comparison with old-growth forests with regard to diversity of soil animals and related functions. The Atlantic Forest is a hotspot of biological diversity with an exceptionally high degree of endemic species, extending over a range of 3,500 km along the coast of Brazil. The anthropogenic pressure in the region is very high with three of the biggest cities of Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Curitiba) lying in its extension. An evaluation of the value of secondary forests for biodiversity conservation is becoming more and more important due to the complete disappearance of primary forests. In 2005, we sampled spiders in 12 sites of three successional stages (5-8, 10-15, 35-50 yr old, three replicates of each forest stage) and old-growth forests (> 100 yr untouched, also three replicates). All sites were inside a private nature reserve (Rio Cachoeira Nature Reserve). We repeated the sampling design and procedure in 2007 in a second private reserve (Itaqui Nature Reserve). The two nature reserves are within about 25 km of each other within a well preserved region of the Mata Atlântica, where the matrix of the landscape mosaic is still forest. A widely accepted standard protocol was used in a replicated sampling design to apply statistical analyses to the resulting data set and allow for comparison with other studies in Brazil. Spiders were sorted to family level and counted; the adult spiders further identified to species if possible or classified as morphospecies with the help of several spider specialists.

Towards a DNA Barcode Reference Database for Spiders and Harvestmen of Germany.

As part of the German Barcode of Life campaign, over 3500 arachnid specimens have been collected and analyzed: ca. 3300 Araneae and 200 Opiliones, belonging to almost 600 species (median: 4 individuals/species). This covers about 60% of the spider fauna and more than 70% of the harvestmen fauna recorded for Germany. The overwhelming majority of species could be readily identified through DNA barcoding: median distances between closest species lay around 9% in spiders and 13% in harvestmen, while in 95% of the cases, intraspecific distances were below 2.5% and 8% respectively, with intraspecific medians at 0.3% and 0.2%. However, almost 20 spider species, most notably in the family Lycosidae, could not be separated through DNA barcoding (although many of them present discrete morphological differences). Conspicuously high interspecific distances were found in even more cases, hinting at cryptic species in some instances. A new program is presented: DiStats calculates the statistics needed to meet DNA barcode release criteria. Furthermore, new generic COI primers useful for a wide range of taxa (also other than arachnids) are introduced.

When to sample in an inaccessible landscape: a case study with carabids from the Allgäu (northern Alps) (Coleoptera, Carabidae).

While pitfall trapping is generally accepted as the standard method for sampling carabid beetles, this method has rarely been used in mountain ecosystems, mainly due to the high labour intensity it involves. As part of a research project in the German Alps, we investigated the phenologic appearance of adult carabid beetles in mountain ecosystems along with the consequences of possible reductions in sampling periods. Our results show that an early activity peak among carabids is predominant in mountain ecosystems. However, there are differences among species: the main group of species showed the highest activity directly after snow melt, a second group showed a delayed activity peak and a small third group had no clear peak at all. Based on this study, we recommend two fortnightly sampling periods as a minimum for a sampling programme: one immediately after snow melt, and a second sampling period after a pause of two weeks.

Efeito do forrageamento de Eciton Burchelli (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) sobre a Araneofauna de liteira em uma floresta tropical de terra firme na Amazônia Central

We investigated the impact of swarm-hunting army ants of the species Eciton burchelli on the ground spider assemblage in an Amazonian "terra firme" rain forest. Spiders were collected from 20 quadrat litter samples taken in front of 7 hunting swarms and 20 samples taken in the same areas after army ants had passed, and were identified to genus or species level. Observed significant effects on the abundance of several spider groups are discussed on the base of the prey-spider spectrum of the ants, known from a study in the same forest. We discuss several difficulties and chances of misinterpretation of the results, due to the high natural variability of arthropod abundance in the habitat and the restriction of the method under the conditions of the field study.

Investigamos o efeito do forrageamento de formigas de correição da espécie Eciton burchelli, a qual caça em forma de enxame, sobre a comunidade de aranhas de liteira em uma floresta tropical de terra firme na Amazônia Central. O método usado foi a amostragem de aranhas por triagem manual de liteira, coletando-se 20 quadrados na frente de 7 enxames de caça das formigas e 20 quadrados logo após a passagem das formigas. As aranhas foram identificadas ao nível de gênero ou espécie e efeitos significativos foram avaliados levando-se em conta o espectro de aranhas-presa destas formigas, conhecido por um estudo na mesma área. Discutem-se as dificuldades e possíveis erros na avaliação do efeito das formigas sobre artrópodos causados pela variância natural de abundâncias e pela restrição da metodologia sob as circunstâncias estudadas.