A synthesis on cave‐dwelling spiders in Europe

• Published in: Journal of zoological systematics and evolutionary research Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 301 - 316
• Main Authors: Mammola, Stefano, Cardoso, Pedro, Ribera, Carles, Pavlek, Martina, Isaia, Marco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Araneae; Biodiversity; Caves; checklist; Endemic species; Habitats; hypogean habitat; speleobiology; Spiders; subterranean biology; Underground caverns; Europe
• ISSN: 0947-5745; 1439-0469
• DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12201

We provide the first overview on spiders living in subterranean habitats in Europe, including the first European subterranean spider checklist. In Europe, there are 486 spider species known to dwell in caves and other subterranean habitats, distributed across 22 families. Despite a few species being able to colonize caves across the whole continent, approximately 90% of the species show a restricted distribution, occurring exclusively in one or two countries. From a biogeographic perspective, southern Europe emerges as the main hot spot of subterranean spider diversity, showing the highest richness of endemic species. Compared to other temperate regions of the world, some families appear to be well represented and other poorly represented (or lacking) in European subterranean habitats. Overall, it appears that the taxonomical knowledge on subterranean spiders in Europe is sufficient, but not evenly distributed. As this checklist represents a useful baseline for advances in this field, we point out specific areas of interest for future research. We present the first overview on cave‐dwelling spiders in Europe, including a detailed checklist of the European species. European caves yield the remarkable diversity of nearly 500 species. At least 200 species are confined to the deep subterranean domain, showing adaptations such as depigmentation and loss of eyes. From a biogeographic perspective, southern Europe emerges as the main hot spot of subterranean spider diversity.