Abstract
Here we review the taxonomy of the epigean species of the spider subfamily Harpacteinae (Araneae, Dysderidade) on Crete. Along with the endemic cave-dwelling genus Minotauria, this subfamily is represented on this island by the genera Harpactea and Stalagtia, the last of which is reported for the first time. We describe and illustrate the previously unknown females of Harpacteacressa Brignoli, 1984 and Harpactea coccifera Brignoli, 1984. Furthermore, a new species, Stalagtia thaleriana n. sp., is described and a critical appraisal and a re-delimitation of the current definition of the genus Stalagtia is provided. An identification key, some notes on the ecology (habitat preferences, activity periods) and the distribution of these species on Crete are also given.References
Alicata, P. (1964) Le specie italiane di Harpactocrates e di Parachtes n. gen. (Araneae, Dysderidae). Annuario dell’Istituto e Museo di Zoologia della Universitá di Napoli, XVI, 1–40.
Alicata, P. (1966a) Il genere Dasumia Thorell (Araneae, Dysderidae), sua nuova definizione e revisione delle specie italiane. Memorie del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, 14, 65–486.
Alicata, P. (1966b) Le Harpactea (Araneae, Dysderidae) della fauna italiana e considerazione sulla loro origine. Atti della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze naturali in Catania, 18, 190–221.
Alicata, P. (1974) Le Harpactea Bristowe (Araneae, Dysderidae) del Nord Africa. Animalia, 1, 3–24.
Arnedo, M.A., Oromí, P. & Ribera, C. (2000) Systematics of the genus Dysdera (Araneae, Dysderidae) in the Eastern Canaries. Journal of Arachnology, 28, 261–292.
Arnedo, M.A. & Ribera, C. (1999) Radiation of the genus Dysdera (Araneae, Dysderidae) in the Canary Islands: The island of Tenerife. Journal of Arachnology, 27, 604–662.
Bosmans, R. & Chatzaki, M. (2005) A catalogue of the spiders of Greece. A critical review of all spider species cited from Greece with their localities. Arachnological contributions, Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging, 18, 1–171.
Brignoli, P.M. (1976) Ragni di Grecia IX. Specie nuove o interessanti delle famiglie Leptonetidae, Dysderidae, Pholcidae ed Agelenidae (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 83, 539–578.
Brignoli, P.M. (1978) Ragni di Turchia V. Specie nuove o interessanti, cavernicole ed epigee, di varie famiglie (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 85, 461–541.
Brignoli, P.M. (1984) Ragni di Grecia XII. Nuovi dati su varie famiglie (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 91, 281–321.
Chatzaki, M., Thaler, K. & Mylonas, M. (2002a) Ground spiders (Gnaphosidae; Araneae) of Crete (Greece). Taxonomy and distribution. I. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 109, 559–601.
Chatzaki, M., Thaler, K. & Mylonas, M. (2002b) Ground spiders (Gnaphosidae; Araneae) of Crete and adjacent areas of Greece. Taxonomy and distribution. II. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 109, 603–633.
Chatzaki, M., Thaler, K. & Mylonas, M. (2003) Ground spiders (Gnaphosidae; Araneae) of Creteand adjacent areas of Greece. Taxonomy and distribution. III: Zelotes and allied genera. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 110, 45–89.
Deeleman-Reinhold, C.L. (1989) Rhodera n. gen. hypogea n. sp. araignée mircophtalme de la île de Crète, un fossil vivant? (Araneae: Dysderidae: Dysderinae). Mémoires de Biospéologie, 16, 47–51.
Deeleman-Reinhold, C.L. (1993) The genus Rhode and the harpacteine genera Stalagtia, Folkia, Minotauria, and Kaemis (Araneae, Dysderidae) of Yugoslavia and Crete, with remarks on the genus Harpactea. Revue Arachnologique, 10, 105–135.
Deeleman-Reinhold, C.L. & Deeleman, P.R. (1988) Revision des Dysderinae. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, 131, 141–269.
Deltshev, C. (1979) A contribution to the study of cave spiders (Araneae) in Greece. Four new species (Araneae, Nesticidae, Linyphiidae) from the islands of Crete and Thera. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 13, 53–63.
Dermitzakis, M.D. & Papanikolaou, D.I. (1981) Paleogeography and geodynamics of the Aegean area in the Neogene period. Annales Geologiques des Pays Helleniques, 4, 245–289.
Gasparo, F. (2004) Note sul genere Minotauria Kulczynski, 1903 con descrizione del maschio di M. fagei (Kratochvíl, 1970) stat. nov. (Araneae, Dysderidae). Atti e Memorie della Commissione Grotte "E. Boegan", 39, 51–65.
Logunov, D.V. & Chatzaki, M. (2003) An annotated check-list of the Salticidae (Araneae) of Crete, Greece. Revista ibérica de Aracnología, 7, 95–100.
Metzner, H. (1999) Die Springspinnen (Araneae, Salticidae) Griechenlands. Andrias, 14, 3–279.
Meulenkamp, J.E., Van der Zwaan, G.J. & Van Wamel, W.A. (1994) On late miocene to recent vertical motions in the Cretan segment of the Hellenic arc. Tectonophysics, 234, 53–72.
Pennas, P. (1977) The climate of Crete. Ph.D., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 105 pp.
Platnick, N.I. (2005). The world spider catalog, Version 5.5. New York: American Museum of Natural History. Available from http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog81-87/INTRO1.html (accessed 20 September 2005)
Schule, W. (1993) Mammals, vegetation and the initial human settlement of the Mediterranean islands: a palaeoecological approach. Journal of Biogeography, 20, 399–412.
Schult, J. (1983) Taster haplogyner Spinnen unter phylogenetischem Aspekt (Arachnida: Araneae). Verhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg, 26, 69–84.
Thaler, K. & Knoflach, B. (1993) Two new Amaurobius species (Araneae: Amaurobiidae) from Greece. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 9, 132–136.
Thaler, K. & Knoflach, B. (1995) Über Vorkommen und Verbreitung von Amaurobius-Arten in Peloponnes und Ägaeis (Araneida: Amaurobiidae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 102, 41–60.