The spider family Dictynidae in Iran (Arachnida: Araneae)

عنوان دوره: دومین کنگره بین المللی حشره شناسی ایران

Dictynidae is a relatively large spider family currently comprising 615 described species in 55 genera. Although they are globally distributed, dictynid spiders are more commonly found in the temperate regions than in the tropics. Various life styles have been recorded in this family, ranging from plant-dwelling species building a web with parallel threads in the subfamily Dictyninae to those well-adapted for living in the intertidal zones, as seen in members of the genus Paratheuma. The taxonomy of the family is very much unknown with no global revisions being available; the position of several genera are still being considered as provisional, and major transfers to this group have been made during the recent years. The dictynid fauna of the Middle East and Central Asia is very poorly known in particular, and Iran is no exception: the first documentation of their occurrence in this country dates back to 2008, and currently 14 species of 9 genera are known from this region. In my presentation, I will give detailed information on the taxonomy and faunistics of this family in Iran, accompanied with a brief history of studies on spiders of this country and an overview of recent progresses.

Middle East؛ fauna؛ taxonomy؛ mesh weaver spiders؛ intertidal spiders