A new species of Neonella Gertsch, 1936 is described from Uruguay: N. almita n. sp., which inhabits natural grasslands. Additionally, first records of N. acostae Rubio, Argañaraz & Gleiser, 2015, and new records of N. lubrica Galiano, 1988, N. minuta Galiano, 1965, and N. montana Galiano, 1988 are given. Illustrations of the habitus, sexual characters, photographs of living specimens, natural history data and a distribution map of species of Neonella from Uruguay are provided. Conservation issues based on distributional patterns of the species are proposed.

The type species of Baryphas Simon, 1902, B. ahenus Simon, 1902, is illustrated and its distribution in South Africa is updated based on the material contained in six collections. A new species, B. parvulus sp. nov., is described from north-eastern South Africa. DNA barcodes (cytochrome oxidase subunit I, COI) are presented for seven Baryphas specimens and several other Plexippini from South Africa, with the results supporting the distinction between the two Baryphas species.

Trechona munduruku sp. nov. is described from Flona do Tapajós, Belterra, Pará, Brazil, based on a holotype male deposited in the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil. The new species is the first of the genus known from Brazilian Amazonia.

The previously unknown male of Heteropoda afghana Roewer, 1962 is described for the first time. New data on the distribution range and the biology of the species are presented and the relatively wide distribution of H. afghana is discussed.

A new jumping spider species belonging to the genus Okinawicius Prószyński, 2016 is described from India: O. tekdi Tripathi & Kulkarni sp. n. (♂♀), collected from the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra, India. Detailed morphological descriptions and illustrations of the male palp and female genitalia are presented.

A new species of the lyrate curtain-web spider genus Trechona C. L. Koch, 1850, Trechona minuana sp. nov., is described, based on males and females from Santa Catarina state, South Brazil. It is the first species of the genus from this Brazilian region. Additionally, we describe for the first time the female of Trechona excursora Pedroso, Miranda & Baptista, 2019 based on specimens from its type localities.

A new monotypic genus of the subfamily Theraphosinae Thorell, 1869 is described from the Western Cordillera of the Andes in northern Ecuador. The new genus is diagnosed by its distinctive male palpal morphology, including a semi-spatulate bulb caused by a well developed retrolateral inferior keel, presence of a cymbial apophysis, absence of a tibial apophysis, and a new character described in this contribution as a retrolateral tegular process. We comment on the similarities in male palpal bulb morphology with other neotropical genera and provide a preliminary phylogenic placement based on morphology.

We describe the spider communities collected by pitfall traps from forestry plantations at 16 areas across the UK, primarily planted with conifers, as part of the Biodiversity in Britain's Planted Forests research programme. The large collection of 13,863 identifiable individuals contained 191 species, mainly ones known to be associated with woodlands. The biggest source of variation in the data was a geographical gradient from the southeast to the northwest of the British Isles, presumably reflecting climatic conditions. The far northwestern sites held a relatively homogeneous assemblage typified by Micrargus apertus, while the southeastern sites held a more diverse mix of species. There was some evidence for tree species affecting the assemblage, with differences between the spiders of Sitka spruce and Norway spruce, also between Corsican pine and Scots pine. The age of forest was also influential, with highest diversity in the youngest stands. Overall, we suggest that these artificial plantations contribute to a surprising degree to our forest invertebrate biodiversity and merit further studies to elucidate the factors driving species assemblages within plantations of different tree species and of different ages.

Two new species of the genus Spinosatibiapalpus Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 are described: S. paula sp. nov. from the Colombian Caribbean coast and S. neisi sp. nov. from central Colombia. Both species are proposed based on the morphology of the palpal bulb, tibial apophysis and spermathecae. Taxonomic keys for all known species of the genus and a distribution map for Colombian species are provided.

Grazing and mowing constitute two important ways of reducing vegetation structure, which causes mechanical injuries in plants. In response to these injuries, plants emit herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that can act as recruitment signals for arthropod predators. Among these arthropods, spiders have been suggested to respond to HIPVs. It is unknown, however, if spiders make microhabitat choice based on the detection of those HIPVs or based solely on the availability of vegetal structure. In this study, we investigated microhabitat choice of the orb-weaver spider Argiope trifasciata (Forsskål, 1775) and its potential relationship with impacted and not impacted vegetation structure availability. Our major results corroborate other findings that microhabitat choice in orb-weaver spiders is driven not by HIPVs, but rather by vegetation structure. Habitat structure influences a variety of ecological factors such as predation risk, prey availability, and mate finding in orb-weavers. The mechanisms underlying assessment by A. trifasciata of the vegetative structure remains unknown, and future studies might investigate their capacity to perceive light and shade and/or their assessment of vertical positioning. Practically, our results can be useful in evaluating the impact of land management on spider populations and their resilience to these impacts.

An annotated checklist and taxonomic review of the spiders of Saint Helena is presented. A total of 88 genera and 114 species are known; of these, 12 genera and 45 species are endemic. Two new genera and two new species are described: Anapistula martinae Sherwood, Harvey, Fowler, Joshua, Stevens, Scipio-O'Dean & Ellick sp. nov., Helenidion Sherwood, Marusik, Fowler, Stevens & Joshua gen. nov., Ischnothyreus christyjoae Sherwood, Henrard, Peters, Stevens & Fowler sp. nov., and Trust Sherwood, Marusik, Wilkins, P. Ashmole & M. Ashmole gen. nov. Three new combinations are proposed: Helenidion sciaphilum (Benoit, 1977) comb. nov. (type species), Helenidion huberti (Benoit, 1977) comb. nov., and Zelotes funereus (Dalmas, 1921) comb. nov. Lepthyphantes albimaculatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873) (Linyphiidae) is synonymized with Lepthyphantes leprosus (Ohlert, 1865) syn. nov. Lynxosa Roewer, 1960 gen. rest. is restored to house the lycosids L. inexorabilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870) comb. rest., L. ligata (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870) comb. rest., L. nefasta (Tongiorgi, 1977) comb. nov., and L. veseyensis (Sherwood, Henrard, Logunov & Fowler, 2023) comb. nov. The previously undescribed sexes of Benoitodes sanctaehelenae (Strand, 1909) (Gnaphosidae), Hahnia laticeps Simon, 1898 (Hahniidae), Helenactyna crucifera (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873) (Dictynidae, first known male for the genus), Paraheliophanus napoleon Clark & Benoit, 1977 (Salticidae), and Trust solium (Benoit, 1977) comb. nov. (Theridiidae) are described. Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae Benoit, 1977, originally described from juveniles, is supplemented with a first description of the adult female. Lectotypes and paralectotypes are designated for the salticid species Paraheliophanus subinstructus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873) and Pellenes inexcultus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873). Seven species are newly recorded from the island: Clubiona hitchinsi Saaristo, 2002 (Clubionidae), Latrodectus renivulvatus Dahl, 1902 (Theridiidae), Micropholcus fauroti (Simon, 1887) (Pholcidae), Oecobius marathaus Tikader, 1962 (Oecobiidae), Steatoda nobilis (Thorell, 1875) (Theridiidae), Theridion melanostictum O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 (Theridiidae), and Theridion proximum Lawrence, 1964 (Theridiidae). Epigynal duplication, a rare anomaly in spiders, is reported for the prodidomid Zimirina relegata Cooke, 1977.

Grammostola vachoni (Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1961) and Plesiopelma longisternale (Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1942) are two sympatric tarantula species living in mountain systems from central Argentina occurring at the same microhabitat. Adults and juveniles of both species live under rocks, where they construct their shelters. They are also synchronous in egg sac laying and hatching of the first stages (December and January). Given this scenario, it is probable that juveniles compete for resources, such as shelters during early stages. Thus, we evaluated the abundance and demography of both species at their natural habitat, by registering the sizes of individuals found, their refuges, and percentage of coexistence. We also conducted intra- and interspecific interactions to register the behavioural patterns of spiders against congeners and hetero-specific individuals. Grammostola vachoni was more abundant at one site studied; however, both species showed similar abundances at the second site. We identified 16 behavioural units. The most frequent behaviour displayed by both species was “retreat”. The most frequent behaviour during interspecific interactions was “retreat” for P. longisternale, whereas for G. vachoni it was “abdomen elevation”. For intraspecific encounters, the most common behaviours were “contraction” and “silk deposition” for P. longisternale, while for G. vachoni they were “retreat”, “raising palps”, and “grasp”.

A new species of the Caribbean genus Cyrtopholis Simon, 1892, Cyrtopholis montserrat sp. nov. is described from the United Kingdom Overseas Territory (UKOT) of Montserrat, based on both sexes. Cyrtopholis femoralis Pocock, 1903 is redescribed from the holotype male with the first figures of the genitalia of this Montserrat endemic spider presented. The endemic Saint Barthélemy species Cyrtopholis antillana Thorell, 1894 stat. rev. is revalidated from synonymy with Cyrtopholis bartholomaei (Latreille, 1832) and non-type specimens of both sexes are described and diagnosed. Cyrtopholis innocua (Ausserer, 1871), C. intermedia (Ausserer, 1875), C. ischnoculiformis (Franganillo, 1926), and C. obsoleta (Franganillo, 1935) are proposed as nomina dubia, and Cyrtopholis respinus Franganillo, 1935 is confirmed as a nomen nudum.

A new species of the palpimanid spider genus Scelidocteus Simon, 1907 is described from Salonga National Park, D. R. Congo. The new species is distinguished by the structure of the male and female copulatory organs, both sexes of Scelidocteus mbembai sp. nov. are illustrated and diagnosed against congeners. With this paper, the number of spider species recorded from Salonga, Africa's largest rainforest reserve, rises to a paltry seven, and the number of known Scelidocteus species rises to ten.

Two new species of orb-weaver spiders of the genus Larinia Simon, 1874 are described from the dry forests of the Mahajanga region, in north-western Madagascar: Larinia mariaranoensis sp. nov. and L. foko sp. nov. Additionally, Larinia dasia (Roberts, 1983), previously known only from Mahé Island in the Seychelles, is first recorded for the country.

The female of Uroballus nazirwanii Prajapati, Malamel & Sebastian, 2020, is described for the first time, from the Western Ghats region, Kerala, India. Detailed morphological descriptions, diagnostic features, and illustrations of the copulatory organs of both sexes are provided. The current distribution of the genus in India is also mapped.