Biodiversity Data Journal (Mar 2014)

Dispatch from the field: ecology of ground-web-building spiders with description of a new species (Araneae, Symphytognathidae)

  • Jeremy Miller,
  • Menno Schilthuizen,
  • Jennie Burmester,
  • Lot van der Graaf,
  • Vincent Merckx,
  • Merlijn Jocqué,
  • Paul Kessler,
  • Tom Fayle,
  • Thijmen Breeschoten,
  • Regi Broeren,
  • Roderick Bouman,
  • Wan-Ji Chua,
  • Frida Feijen,
  • Tanita Fermont,
  • Kevin Groen,
  • Marvin Groen,
  • Nicolaas Kil,
  • Henrica de Laat,
  • Michelangelo Moerland,
  • Carole Moncoquet,
  • Elisa Panjang,
  • Amelia Philip,
  • Rebecca Roca-Eriksen,
  • Bastiaan Rooduijn,
  • Marit van Santen,
  • Violet Swakman,
  • Meaghan Evans,
  • Luke Evans,
  • Kieran Love,
  • Sarah Joscelyne,
  • Anya Tober,
  • Hannah Wilson,
  • Laurentius Ambu,
  • Benoit Goossens

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1076
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

Read online

Crassignatha danaugirangensis sp. n. (Araneae: Symphytognathidae) was discovered during a tropical ecology field course held at the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, Malaysia. A taxonomic description and accompanying ecological study were completed as course activities. To assess the ecology of this species, which belongs to the ground-web-building spider community, three habitat types were surveyed: riparian forest, recently inundated riverine forest, and oil palm plantation. Crassignatha danaugirangensis sp. n. is the most abundant ground-web-building spider species in riparian forest; it is rare or absent from the recently inundated forest and was not found in a nearby oil palm plantation. The availability of this taxonomic description may help facilitate the accumulation of data about this species and the role of inundated riverine forest in shaping invertebrate communities.

Keywords