Natura Croatica Issue number: Natura Croatica, Vol. 32 No.2

Contribution to spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) from Bjeshkët e Nemuna mountains (Kosovo)

Authors: Donard Geci, Maria Naumova, Halil Ibrahimi, Linda Grapci-Kotori, Agim Gashi, Astrit Bilalli, Milaim Musliu

Authors and affiliation

  • Donard Geci Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Mother Theresa p.n., 10 000 Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
  • Maria Naumova Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Halil Ibrahimi Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, “Eqrem Qabej” p.n., 10 000 Prishtinë, Kosovo
  • Linda Grapci-Kotori Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Mother Theresa p.n., 10 000 Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
  • Agim Gashi Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina, Mother Teresa street p.n., 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
  • Astrit Bilalli University of Peja “Haxhi Zeka”, Faculty of Agribusiness, Street “UÇK” 30000 Pejë, Republic of Kosovo
  • Milaim Musliu University of Peja “Haxhi Zeka”, Faculty of Agribusiness, Street “UÇK” 30000 Pejë, Republic of Kosovo

Abstract

Since Kosovo is the least explored territory in the Balkan Peninsula when it comes to the study of spider fauna, with large, untouched areas, we aim to explore it in detail. From Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains only 15 species have been reported. We collected and identified 323 spider specimens (88♂♂, 235♀♀) from April 2018 to August 2021 at 20 sites in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park between 529 and 2066 m a.s.l. These specimens belong to 91 species, 65 genera, and 23 families. Of these, 42 species, 13 genera, and 2 families are new records for the spider fauna of Kosovo, and 90 species are new for the mountains. As a result of our research, the list of species known from the studied region increased from 15 to 105 and the number of known spiders in Kosovo increased to 248 species.

Keywords

Albanian Alps, Balkans, faunistic, new country records

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