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Issue: Vol. 5351 No. 2: 26 Sept. 2023
Type: Article
Published: 2023-09-26
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5351.2.3
Page range: 221-264
Abstract views: 305
PDF downloaded: 24

A comprehensive update on the morphology and distribution of the invasive scaffold-web spider Eidmannella pallida (Araneae, Nesticidae) with a focus on new records from Italy

DAFNAE; University of Padova; Viale dell’Università 16; 35020 Legnaro; Padova; Italy
Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali “E. Caffi” of Bergamo; Piazza Cittadella 10; I-24129 Bergamo; Italy
Dipartimento di Biologia; Ecologia e Scienze della Terra; Università della Calabria; Via P. Bucci 4B 87036; Rende (CS); Italy
DAFNAE; University of Padova; Viale dell’Università 16; 35020 Legnaro; Padova; Italy
DAFNAE; University of Padova; Viale dell’Università 16; 35020 Legnaro; Padova; Italy
World Biodiversity Association Onlus; c/o Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Lungadige; Porta Vittoria 9;37129 Verona; Italy; Department of Chemistry; Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability; University of Parma;Parco Area delle Scienze 11/a; 43124 Parma; Italy
Systematic Zoology Laboratory; Department of Biological Sciences; Tokyo Metropolitan University; 1-1 Minami-Osawa; Hachioji-shi; 192-0397; Tokyo; Japan; Department of Zoology; Museo di Storia Naturale of Verona; Lungadige Porta Vittoria; 9; I-37129 Verona; Italy
Araneae agroecosystem cave conservation invasive species subterranean environment

Abstract

Updated non-native distributional data of the invasive spider Eidmannella pallida (Emerton, 1875), Nesticidae, are herein summarized together with the morphological characters of the species. We report all the known localities from the literature. Furthermore, we present and discuss recent findings for the Italian peninsula. In particular, the species has been consistently found in vineyards and annual crop fields in North Italy and in olive groves in South Italy. We include a redescription of the species, and detailed illustrations of the diagnostic characters of both males and females, based on stereomicroscope and SEM images. The spreading potential of the species and its possible impacts on local communities are discussed. Our data suggest that E. pallida has high invasiveness potential and several new findings in non-native areas were recorded in the last years. We found that E. pallida can establish permanent populations in crop-dominated landscapes and has a tendency to exploit vulnerable ecosystems such as the subterranean environment. We thus recommend new and more comprehensive studies on this species to investigate in deeper detail its phylogeny, ecology, and micro-habitat preferences. A high effort should be placed to assess the potential negative effects of E. pallida on the endemic fauna in invaded areas, especially in caves.

 

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