A first baseline for the salticid (Araneae: Salticidae) fauna of Paraguay, with thirty-two new records and description of a new species from Paraguay and Argentina

Abstract

Knowledge on spiders in Paraguay is abysmal, even in Salticidae, the most diverse spider family. Prior to this study, 40 species were registered for Paraguay, which may be underestimating the true species diversity in the country by five times or more. This study provides a first baseline for jumping spiders in Paraguay from evaluation of three salticid collections. We provide 32 new country records (a remarkable 76% of the total number of species included in the study) including the description of a new species of PachomiusPeckham & Peckham, 1896, Pachomius rubrogastrussp. nov., from Paraguay and Argentina. Thus, the salticid fauna of Paraguay is raised from 40 species to 72. We provide images of 21 new records, and diagnose and illustrate the new species of Pachomius. Through this publication, we have begun to fill in the immense knowledge gap of the spider fauna of Paraguay. We also provide brief directions to further Salticidae knowledge in Paraguay.