Araneofauna (Arachnidae: Araneae) of  Monte Pellegrino (Sicily, Italy): Fourth contribution to the knowledge of the Sicilian spider fauna

This work is a preliminary checklist of spiders living in Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Monte Pellegrino, together with the Parco della Favorita, has a high  biodiversity and the different vegetation types together with the particular geomorphology of the soil offers a great variety of flora and fauna.The samples were obtained over several years, with a large number of specimens. Up to date, 74 species from 63 genera and 26 families are listed.

Four species new for Sicily: Segestria bavarica C.L. Koch, 1843 (Segestridae), Monaeses paradoxus (Lucas, 1846) and Ozyptila confluens (C.L. Koch, 1845) (Thomisidae), and Episinus algiricus Lucas, 1846 (Theridiidae). Moreover, Tibellus Simon, 1875 (Philodromidae), a new genus from Sicily, was also found at Monte Pellegrino.

The studies currently carried out were mainly aimed at known areas of the mountain, such as the Gorgo di Santa Rosalia, the area around the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia and the Addaura Caves, but other interesting areas of this locality could add new data.