Two new species of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý from caves in Georgia (Opiliones Nemastomatidae)
Author
Martens, Jochen
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Institut für Organismische und Molekulare Evolutionsbiologie (iomE), D- 55099 Mainz, Germany; Senckenberg Research Institute, Arachnology, D- 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Author
Maghradze, Eter
Institute of Zoology, Ilia State University, Giorgi Tsereteli 3, 0162, Tbilisi, Georgia
Author
Barjadze, Shalva
Institute of Zoology, Ilia State University, Giorgi Tsereteli 3, 0162, Tbilisi, Georgia
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-04-07
4951
3
541
558
journal article
7383
10.11646/zootaxa.4951.3.7
a6ee038f-4cda-4f38-8fde-8ad0efec8f0f
1175-5326
4668453
EB876346-4282-4B4E-8585-ED50F1A616E4
Nemastomatidae
in the Caucasus
One of main hotspots of nemastomatid diversity is situated in the Caucasus, with highest species diversity in
the northwestern part (
Martens 2006
). Representatives of nine genera are found there, i.e. about half of the genera presently accepted in
Nemastomatinae
, comprising about 25 species. Four of the genera are endemic or subendemic to this area. Surprisingly, of the 13 troglobiotic nemastomatid species presently known in Eurasia, eight occur in the Caucasus area, one in the
Crimea
, and two each in the southern Alps and the Balkan peninsula (
Hadži 1940
;
Martens 2006
;
Mitov 2011
;
Kozel
et al.
2020
).
Apart from a few laniatorean genera and species, all European (including Caucasian) troglobiotic species belong to
Nemastomatidae
. The majority of species are in the genus
Nemaspela
Šilhavý, 1966
, in which only troglobionts are known, all from the Caucasus area, Crimea and the Balkan Peninsula. The genus
Hadzinia
Šilhavý, 1966
has only two troglobiont species from
Slovenia
, the genus
Mitostoma
Roewer, 1951
one north Italian troglobitic species, and the genus
Paranemastoma
Redikorzew, 1936
two Bulgarian troglobites (Kratochíl 1958;
Mitov 2011
).