No abstract

Taranucnus Simon, 1884 is a small Holarctic genus of the spider family Linyphiidae that contains only five species (WSC, 2018). In Europe and in Ukraine it is represented by three taxa: T. setosus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1863), T. bihari Fage, 1931 and T. carpaticus Gnelitsa, 2016 (WSC, 2018). The type species of the genus is T. setosus, widely distributed in the Palaearctic, T. bihari is known from a few localities from the Carpathians within Poland, Slovakia, and Romania (Nentwig et al. 2017). Recently, T. carpaticus was recorded from the two mountain massifs (Gorgany and Chornohora) of the Ukrainian Carpathians (Gnelitsa 2016). In this paper a fourth European species, Taranucnus beskidicus new species, is described.

The present checklist of spiders native to the Chornohora Mts of the Ukrainian Carpathians is based both on literature-derived data and on material collected by the authors in 1999, 2006 and 2011-2014. The majority of these studies (approximately 80 %) were conducted in the upper montane forests, subalpine and alpine levels on the slopes of the main ridge and adjacent spurs and mountains. The study also covers glacial cirques and river valleys. A few spiders were collected from local villages. The list of spiders includes records from the collections of the Museum of Natural History of the Wroclaw University and Museum (Poland) and the Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. A total of 252 valid species from 22 families is known from the Chornohora Mt. massif.

The series of epigeibiontic Arthropoda communities are investigated in several fo­rest and woodland ecosystems of Lva-Stvyga inter-river area within Volyn Polissia region of Ukraine. This is remoted district with peculiar ecological features as well as dominancy of oligotrophic forest and peat-bog ecosystems. The material of epigeibiontic arthropods was collected in spring and summer 2015 by the method of Barber’s pitfall traps. There are three pilot areas explored: 1) wet oligotrophic pine woodland (Ledo-Pinion); 2) late secondary succession of wet oligotrophic pine woodland cutting area; 3) dry oligotrophic pine woodland on the sands (Dicrano-Pinion). In total, 186 species of epigeibiontic arthropods were explored. There were found 75 species of spiders (Araneae) and 27 species of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) among them. Along with that, the ants (Formicidae) have dominancy within related communities with an amount about 82–87 % of total arthropod individual’s number, and Araneae both with Carabidae exceed 6–7 % of this number. Nevertheless, there are nine spider species found for the first time for Ukrainian Polissia region and 1 species – Gnaphosa nigerrima – for the territory of Ukraine. One Carabid beetle species (Cymindis vaporariorum) was found at the first time for West Polissia region of Ukraine. There is also a number of rare and less known Araneae and Carabidae species found. Thus, the species composition and structure of explored Araneae & Carabidae communities show many specific features, which are caused by characteristic ecological and biogeographical peculiarities of oligotrophic ecosystems within investigated area. Following research of related taxonomical groups has to be directed to the wider spectrum of ecosystems covering, especially to peat-bog and mire complexes as unique protected habitats in Ukraine and the European Union.

The research on the spider fauna of the Dnister Canyon National Nature Park, which is located on the territory of the Chortkiv district of the Ternopil oblast (Ukraine), is presented. The study area lies within the deciduous forest zone in the region of Roztochia-Opillian hill ridges and the West Podolian upland region. The history of the study of the spider fauna in the region is analyzed, including the one related to the works of famous naturalists of the 19th century: A. Wierzejski, M. Łomnicki, L. Wajgiel, M. Nowicki, and L. Koch. It was established that most of the clusters of the National Nature Park were not covered by the research, and its faunal list includes only about 85 spider species, and even then, a significant part of them was collected on the outskirts of the protected area. During the several-day expeditions in 2000 and 2016, 93 species belonging to 20 families were found. The species-rich families were Linyphiidae (15 species; 16.1% of species diversity), Araneidae (12 species; 12.9%), Lycosidae, Theridiidae, and Thomisidae (11 species each; 11.8%). Information on the distribution in the world and in Ukraine of two rare and little-known species of spiders, namely Tegenaria campestris (C. L. Koch, 1834) and Harpactea saeva (Herman, 1879), which were found in a rotten log in an oak-hornbeam forest, is given. Taking into account the literature-derided data, the fauna of the park currently includes 135 spider species from 21 families. During the research, 42 species of spiders were not confirmed. First of all, this is due to the very short period of expeditions and the lack of stationary study plots, and therefore of materials from pitfall traps or seasonal from spring to autumn collections. In particular, no tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis) was found. This species was typical and widespread in Podolia at the end of the 19th century, however, according to a survey of local residents, it is now very rare, and its records on the territory of the National nature park need confirmation. To supplement the fauna and understand the features of its formation in the region, further comprehensive research of zonal forests and steppe areas on the slopes of river canyons is necessary.