Spider Fauna (Araneae) of the Low Arctic Belcher Islands, Hudson Bay

Abstract

Thirty-three species of spiders were found on the low arctic Belcher Islands (on Flaherty Island), N.W.T., Canada in southeastern Hudson Bay (about 56 degrees N, 79 degrees W). Eight families were represented; 23 species belonged to Linyphiidae (s. lat.) and 4 to Lycosidae. The most abundant and frequently caught species, in the pitfall trap material, were the lycosids Pardosa labradorensis (Thorell), Alopecosa hirtipes (Kulczynski) and Arctosa insignita (Thorell). Other frequently trapped, eurytopic species included the linyphid Conigerella borealis (Jackson) and the gnaphosid Gnaphosa orites Chamberlin. A great number of species were found under stones. Diplocephalus sphagnicolus Eskov, known earlier from Siberia, is reported for the first time from the Nearctic region, and Typhochrestus pygmaeus (Soerensen), known from Greenland, is reported for the first time from North America. More than half of the found spider species are Holarctic.

Key words: spiders, Araneae, zoogeography, habitats, taxonomy, Belcher Islands, Hudson Bay, Canada, low arctic, tundra