Clubiona pseudoneglecta and Paratrachelas maculatus, two spider species new to the Slovak fauna (Araneae: Clubionidae, Trachelidae)

Abstract. Two spider species, Clubiona pseudoneglecta Wunderlich, 1994 and Paratrachelas maculatus (Thorell, 1875), have been recorded for the first time in Slovakia. One male and five females of C. pseudoneglecta were collected at three sites in the Danube Plain. Two females of P. maculatus were found in the parks of the town of Galanta. Photos of the habitus and genitalia, an overview of the current distribution and habitat preferences are presented.

In the course of recent investigations, our knowledge of the Slovak spider fauna has increased significantly (Šestáková et al. 2018(Šestáková et al. , Gajdoš et al. 2019a). The number of recorded spider species in Slovakia is currently 969 (Gajdoš et al. 2018). Two independent studies, focusing on investigating spider assemblages in threatened and synanthropic habitats in the Danube Plain, discovered two spider species hitherto un known in Slovakia. The first of these is Clubiona pseudoneglecta Wunderlich, 1994 belonging to the family Clubionidae. In Slovakia, 28 species of this family had previously been documented (Gajdoš et al. 2018, Nentwig et al. 2020. The second new record is Paratrachelas maculatus (Thorell, 1875) from the family Trachelidae. Only one species from this family, Cetonana laticeps (Canestrini, 1868), had previously been recorded in Slovakia (Gajdoš et al. 2018). The genus Paratrachelas is thus new to the Slovakian spider fauna. The aim of our study was to provide new information on the distribution and habitats of these two very rare spider species in Central Europe.

Material and methods
The study sites are situated in the Pannonian Region of the Danubian Lowland (south-western Slovakia). According to Pecho et al. (2008) climate in the Danubian Lowland has recently begun to show some features typical for the Mediterranean region with its warmer spells and aridization trends.
The presented species were recorded at the following four studied sites (Figs 1, 2 . This species has been reported in many European countries, but seems to be lacking in the northern part of Europe, including the Baltic region and Scandinavia   Nentwig et al. 2020, van Helsdingen 2013. It was first found and described in Germany (Wunderlich 1994), and thereafter recorded in Europe in Hungary (Mikhailov & Szinetár 1997), Belgium and the Netherlands (Roberts 1998 Bosmans et al. (2017) inadvertently confused the country names Slovenia and Slovakia, thus giving the impression that the occurrence of this species in Slovakia had already been published by Kuntner & Šereg (2002). The species has so far been confirmed in Slovakia at three of the localities described above, but we consider it likely that C. pseudoneglecta might have been mistaken in the past with the very similar species -C. neglecta. A review of old records of C. neglecta in Slovakia is therefore called for. This has already been done elsewhere: the first reports of C. pseudoneglecta from Great Britain included reassignment of older reports of C. neglecta (Merrett 2001). Body size. Female: body length 5.94-7.41 mm; prosoma length 2.38-2.47 mm, width 1.85-1.94 mm; opisthosoma length 3.72-5.14 mm, width 2.29-2.98 mm.
General appearance of the female from dorsal and ventral side is as depicted in Figs 3-4 and its epigyne as in Figs 5-6.
Male: body length 5.01 mm; carapace length 2.40 mm, width 1.78 mm; opisthosoma length 2.36 mm, width 1.60 mm. General appearance of the male from dorsal side as depicted in Fig. 7; its bulbus is shown in Fig. 8 and details of the tibial apophysis in Fig. 9.
Habitats. This species is classified as xerophilic and thermophilic (Buchar & Růžička 2002, Isaia et al. 2007), but very little is known about its biology. It has been recorded in dry meadows and on warm, south-exposed slopes (Nentwig et al. 2020). In Germany, it was reported from a vineyard fallow adjacent to semi-dry grasslands (Wunderlich 1994). In Britain, it has been recorded on sand dunes with sparse vegetation on fore-dunes and also on dense grassland on stabilised dunes (Merrett 2001). It has also been recorded on sand dunes in Belgium and the Netherlands (Russell-Smith 2009). However, further south in Europe, it was collected in oak forests in France (Le Peru 2007), in deciduous woodland forest edges in Serbia (Grbić & Savić 2010), and from relatively dry to mesophilic grassland habitats in Germany and Hungary (Russell-Smith 2009) and Serbia (Grbić & Savić 2010). Russell-Smith (2009) collected this species in a sycamore woodland on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. In the European part of Turkey, it was found in a wet area with Juncus sp. ( van Helsdingen 2013). Italian specimens were recorded on low vegetation in meadows (Isaia et al. 2007). Other specimens were collected in ungrazed dry grassland (Milasowszky et al. 2016) and from salt meadows in Austria (Milasowszky & Waitzbauer 2008).
The only historical record without information on the habitat is from the Czech Republic. A specimen recorded in 1958 in Lednice (south Moravia -the warmest part of Czechia) was discovered in F. Miller's collection among the material of C. neglecta (Buchar & Růžička 2002 and our findings, it has been confirmed that C. pseudoneglecta occurs in both natural and anthropogenic habitats, but appears to prefer dry and warm habitats. Red list. Clubiona pseudoneglecta was included in the red lists of many countries or regions. In Belgium it is listed in the regional red list of Flanders in category IN (Indeterminate) (Maelfait et al. 1998), in Czechia in the national red list in category CR (Critically Endangered) (Řezáč et al. 2015) and in the regional red list of the Czech Carpathians in category CR (Critically Endangered) (Gajdoš et al. 2014), in Germany in the category G (Generally Threatened) (Blick et al. 2016) and in the regional red list of Bavaria in category 2 (Endangered) (Blick & Scheidler 2004), in the United Kingdom in the national red list in category VU (Vulnerable) (Harvey et al. 2017), in Hungary in the regional red list of the Hungarian Carpathians in category LC (Least Concern) (Gajdoš et al. 2014), and in Slovenia in the national red list in category R General appearance of the female from dorsal and ventral side is as depicted in Figs 10-11, and its epigyne as in Fig. 12. Habitat: Paratrachelas maculatus was collected using pitfall traps and under tree bark in the sub-mediterranean parklands of south Crimea (Kovblyuk & Nadolny 2009). Several records point to its synanthropic occurrence in Europe. In Austria, the species was found inside a house, and in Germany in a cellar and bathroom (Bauer & Grabolle 2012, Bauer et al. 2019. Recently, it has been observed on the walls of the buildings in the town centre of Keszthely (Balaton Uplands, Hungary) (B. Keresztes pers. comm.). So far, the species has not been considered a typically bark-dwelling Central European spider (Szinetár & Horváth 2006). Specimens from Slovakia have been found outside buildings under the bark of two different tree species (Tilia cordata, Pinus nigra). The observations of Kovblyuk & Nadolny (2009) and our data from Slovakia support classifying P. maculatus as a facultative barkdweller, which permanently or seasonally uses tree trunks as typical, but not exclusive, microhabitats. This is similar to other facultative bark-dwellers such as Gnaphosa montana (L. Koch, 1866) or Phrurolithus festivus (C. L. Koch, 1835), for which rocks, cracks in rocks, and artificial walls also constitute typical habitats (Szinetár & Horváth 2006). We assume that this species is already present on the trees of city parks of many other countries in Central Europe. The further spread of P. maculatus to the north and west is to be expected. Red list: Paratrachelas maculatus has not been included in any Red List, e.g., in the German Red List this species is still stated as not established (Blick et al. 2016). Based on new records Bauer et al. (2019) discussed whether it can be regarded as established, alien species in Germany.