Contributions to the spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) of the South-Central Iran: new species and new records from Iran and Fars Province

The spider fauna of Iran is remarkably diverse but remains incompletely documented, particularly in the south-central area. We present here the result of a faunistic survey conducted in Darab County, Fars Province. A total of ۲۸ species representing ۲۳ genera and ۱۱ families were collected and identified. All species represent new records for Darab County, among them a new record for Iran fauna (Langona pallida, Prószyński, ۱۹۹۳), ۱۳ species are newly recorded for the Fars Province spider fauna, including Berlandina artaxerxes Zamani et al. ۲۰۲۱, Cryptodrassus helvolus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, ۱۸۷۲), C. iranicus Zamani et al., ۲۰۲۱, Cyrba ocellata (Kroneberg, ۱۸۷۵), Filistata maguirei Marusik & Zamani, ۲۰۱۵, Langona pallida Prószyński, ۱۹۹۳, L. tartarica (Charitonov, ۱۹۴۶), Minosiella intermedia Denis, ۱۹۵۸, Zimiris doriae Simon, ۱۸۸۲, Plexippus minor Wesołowska & van Harten, ۲۰۱۰, P. paykulli (Audouin, ۱۸۲۶), Steatoda trianguloides Levy, ۱۹۹۱, and Wadicosa fidelis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, ۱۸۷۲). Additionally, we discovered three species belonging to the families Dysderidae, Gnaphosidae, and Salticidae as possibly new species, highlighting the region’s unexplored diversity. One of these species belongs to the genus Dysdera (♂, Dysderidae) from the ninni–group, diagnosed by the extremely short stylus and distinctive triangular projection on the anterior side of the posterior apophysis. Another species, Berinda sp. (Gnaphosidae), differs from its congener in the longer and thinner tibial apophysis, shallowly bifurcated retrolateral tibial apophysis, and pitchfork-shaped median apophysis in lateral view. Moreover, Evarcha sp. (♂, Salticidae) is distinguished by a short and thin retrolateral tibial apophysis and a short triangular apophysis in the lateroventral view. This species list is composed of widespread Palearctic elements and Iranian endemics, confirming Fars Province as a biogeographic confluence of diversity and highlighting the need for continuing research. This work establishes a foundational dataset and demonstrates that targeted surveys in poorly explored regions of Iran yield significant faunistic discoveries.

کلیدواژه ها:

New records ، Spider ، Dysdera ، Berinda ، Evarcha