No description available.

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2009/06/23). Includes bibliographical references.

Several areas of the bionomics of spiders of alfalfa in Virginia were given preliminary investigation. The species complex of the spider fauna was determined and the seasonal occurrence of the four major species were plotted. The D-Vac sampler and the sweep net were the major sampling methods utilized. Fourteen families consisting of 75 genera and 112 identifiable species were found. Tetragnatha laboriosa Hentz, Pachygnatha tristriata Koch, Misumenops asperatus (Hentz) and Oxyopes salticus Hentz were the most common species found. / Master of Science

No description available.

Game theory models predict that individuals involved in contests adjust their strategy appropriate to the current value of the contested resource and the resource holding potential (RHP) of their opponent. In this investigation, I examined interactively operating, multiple contest asymmetries on dyadic disputes for precopulatory guarding positions in the crab spider Misumenoides formosipes. In contests between equally sized opponents with no previous contest experience, residents had clear advantages in fighting success over intruders. In the remaining two experiments, asymmetries in experience predicted outcome when tested against residency and size asymmetries. Data from this investigation suggest crab spiders learn strategies through experience rather than rely solely on the assessment of their opponent’s RHP before determining contest effort. / Department of Biology

Although all spiders possess fluorophores in their hemolymph, the expression of external fluorescence is much more restricted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in externally-expressed fluorescence between sexes, life stages, and species of spiders. To approach this question, we developed novel instrumentation to capture fluorescence with photographs of our specimens. We paired these fluorescence measurements with spectrometer measurements to attempt to determine the role that fluorescence plays in the overall coloration in spiders. The study was divided into four sections. First, we examined how fluorescence varies in sexes and life stages in Misumena vatia, an ambush predator that typically preys on insects when they are on flowers. We found that adult females possess brighter external fluorescence than males in all body areas that we measured. We also found that external fluorescence remains relatively similar through life stages in females, but darkens over the course of a male's life. It is likely that the differences between males and females relate to differences in feeding ecology. External fluorescence may contribute to a visual signal allowing females to visually blend in with flowers. The second study involved a series of experiments to determine whether freezing spiders at a temperature of -80°C affects their fluorescence intensity. In spiders considered “white thomisids”, fluorescence intensity increased after freezing, whereas fluorescence brightness in darker-pigmented spiders did not change to any similar extent. It seems likely that tissue trauma due to freezing is the cause of increased fluorescence intensity after freezing. The third study examined fluorescence brightness across ages and life stages of Araneus diadematus, a spider which is exposed to the sun, but builds large webs in which to snare prey. We found that, unlike M. vatia, adult males are the more brightly fluorescent sex, with adult females and all immature life stages possessing significantly less bright external fluorescence. It is unclear why these differences exist, but differences in ecology between adult males and all other life stages could play a role. Additionally, dim fluorescence may contribute to subtle patterning and/or convey photoprotection benefits to immatures and adult females. In the final study, we examined external fluorescence across the Thomisidae family. Because of a relatively large number of species with a small sample size, we divided them into “white” and “dark” thomisids based on taxonomy and what is known about ecology. The white thomisids tend to be prey on insects on the exposed surfaces of flowers, whereas dark thomisids more often reside in leaf litter and crevices. We found that white thomisids fluoresce more brightly than dark thomisids. There were no differences between the sexes in either group, however. The differences between white and dark thomisids may be related to differences in feeding ecology, whereas males and females of the same group tend to have similar ecological characteristics, and also possess similar levels of fluorescence brightness.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Two centuries ago it was possible to practice with only 100 remedies. Today with the constantly expanding materia medica, complexity itself tempts the homeopath to remain inside this range of remedies. It is due to the pioneering work of authors like Scholten (1993) and Sankaran (2005) that the vast materia medica of today can be summarized and understood through a method like group analysis which links naturally related substances via their common symptomatology. This not only offers new aspects to well known remedies, but highlights the smaller, not so well known remedies, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the materia medica. Relatively few homeopathic remedies derived from the Araneae order are extensively utilized for the homeopathic treatment of patients. Therefore the spider remedies represented in the literature of Mac Rep computer program® were subjected to the group analysis method in order to extend the overall knowledge of this particular group of homeopathic remedies. The spider remedies were first analyzed in terms of their quantitative representation in the repertory (amount of rubrics) and then a sample group was chosen. This selection was screened for common sensations using the above mentioned computer program. The significance of a common sensation was confirmed by cross-checking the materia medica of all16 homeopathic spider remedies listed in Mac Reference® computer software for its occurrence. The findings were interpreted within the backdrop of the established animal characteristics of homeopathic remedies (Sankaran, 2005:24-31). The primary sensations extracted and confirmed in the rest of the Araneae group were stinging, stitching, shooting, sensitive, sore, cold, faint, paralytic, twitching and full. Significant synonyms of the first order analysis were heaviness, spasm, cramp, numbness and weakness. Second order and third order analysis not only provided symptoms of the mind, but led to the proposed themes common in spider remedies. The majority of themes like hyperactivity, restlessness, increased sexuality, impulsive violence and aggression, the periodicity of complaints, heightened sensitivity to music and the love for dancing are comparable to Mangliavori’s (2004) clinical findings and to Sankaran’s (2005) proposed spider characteristics. A miasmatic differentiation of each member of the sample group was performed according to Sankaran’s extended miasmatic model (2005:7). Araneus diademus was found to belong to the sycotic- as well as malarial miasm, Latrodectus hasseltii to the syphilitic-, Loxoceles reclusa to the leprous- and Tarentula hispanica and Theridion curassavicum to the tubercular miasm. Pathological tendencies of the Araneae remedies were found to involve the nervous system, eyes, heart, muscular – skeletal system, sexual organs and the mind. Examples of diseases common in Araneae remedies were found to be: mental disorders like anxiety neurosis, ADHD, depression, mania, sexual disturbances, STD’s, neurological disorders, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, spinal irritation, migraines, meningitis etc. The results of this research were found to support group analysis methodology as outlined by Sankaran (2005). However additional knowledge drawn from Sankaran’s 2008) most recent research into animal remedies and from the natural history of spiders was necessary to be able to interpret the results correctly and to illustrate an in-depth picture of the common characteristic features of the Araneae remedies.

Human activities have dramatically altered the functioning of ecosystems through the ages. Urbanization illustrates the effect of anthropogenic activity by the transformation of natural areas to ecologically disturbed regions (development of towns, cities and settlements). The growing need for urban employment in South Africa has led to an increase in the number of informal settlements on the periphery of urban areas. These settlements result in fragmentation and sprawling of cities, which intensifies strain on the natural environment. Fragmentation in urban regions then leads to the formation of 'patches' of land which exhibit different disturbance levels and are generally typified as either urban, suburban or rural areas. These land use types may be ecologically studied along an urbanization gradient, with the intention of obtaining meaningful comparisons. An urbanization gradient contains an urban landscape which consists of a densely built and developed core surrounded by an area of decreasing development and increasing 'naturalness'. The use of urbanization gradients has been proven world-wide as a useful tool for the study of changes in ecological patterns and processes across landscapes. This approach has been used to examine many different impacts of urbanization, namely on invertebrate communities, bird community composition and plant community composition. Using biological indicators to determine the degree of anthropogenic impact on the environment has proven effective in past studies. These indicators can be used to monitor ecological change following habitat disturbance, identify changing trends over time, provide early warning systems of degradation and diagnose the cause of existing problems. Several authors have supported the use of arthropods as suitable indicators of disturbance. The aim of this study was to determine what impact disturbance, due to urbanization, may have had on the diversity and abundances of epigeal (surface roaming) arthropods (focussing on ants, beetles and spiders) following an urbanization gradient approach. In addition, plant and soil data were combined with the arthropod analysis for each site studied, in order to obtain a better picture of how arthropod community composition would change in relation to these factors. The ant group were the numerically dominant group of the arthropods studied, although the beetles did have the highest number of species captured. Spiders were caught in low abundances, but were also represented by a high number of species. Dramatic decreasing trends were observed with respect to the ant abundances and diversity from rural to the more urbanized sites. Quite the opposite, seemed to occur with the beetles and spiders, who were dominant in species and numbers in the urbanized areas. This trend may be explained on account of the occurrence of generalists and opportunistic beetle and spider species, which seem to thrive in these heterogenous urban habitats. When considering environmental components, percentage bare-ground and sand concentration seemed to be the determining factors in the rural sites, around which the ant group aggregated. Sandy habitats with patches of bare-ground provide more favourable micro-habitats for the ant species to roam and scavenge in, and are advantageous for nest building. Clay concentration and abundance of fruit seemed to assist in providing favourable habitats for the opportunistic and generalist beetle species, in the urbanized areas. High clay concentrations in the urban areas provided ideal conditions for abundant organic covering which would favour saprophagous (feed on decaying organic matter) beetle species and support diverse prey for the predatory beetle and spider species to feed on. Abundance of fruit may have attracted numerous herbivorous beetles (frugivorous beetles). Urbanization seemed to have a more pronounced effect on ant diversity and abundances in comparison to the beetles and spiders, and therefore recommended for future utilization as a suitable "Bio-indicator" group for further local disturbance studies. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Análise Cladística de Dendryphantinae (Araneae: Salticidae) Gustavo R.S. Ruiz Resumo Salticidae (jumping spiders) é a família de aranhas mais diversa, contendo 5.245 espécies descritas (Platnick, 2010). A família é um dos poucos clados inquestionáveis dentro das aranhas, sendo caracterizada pelo par de olhos medianos anteriores bem desenvolvidos, que lhes permitem visão acurada e propiciam a evolução de comportamentos sexuais e estratégias de predação complexos. Apesar de sua monofilia, não há consenso sobre que grupo de aranhas seria o grupo-irmão dos salticídeos. Entretanto, espera-se que a posição filogenética das famílias do polifilético grupo Dionycha seja determinada em breve através dos estudos moleculares do projeto AToL. Embora pouco seja conhecido sobre as relações na base de Salticidae, trabalhos recentes sobre sua filogenia mostram que mais de 90% das espécies formam um único grande clado, os Salticoida, facilmente reconhecidos morfologicamente pela perda da unha tarsal dos palpos, entre outros caracteres. Dentro dos Salticoida, são reconhecidos atualmente três grandes clados. Um deles inclui os Astioida, as subfamílias Baviinae e Ballinae e os Marpissoida. O clado Marpissoida inclui as subfamílias Dendryphantinae, Marpissinae, Synagelinae e alguns gêneros pouco compreendidos, como Itata Peckham & Peckham. Dentre todos os salticídeos, a subfamília Dendryphantinae é um dos poucos grupos com limites bem estabelecidos, incluindo centenas de espécies com carenas na face retrolateral das quelíceras dos machos e palpos dos machos com êmbolos espirais reduzidos. Em geral, os machos também têm faixas longitudinais nas laterais da carapaça e abdômen, enquanto as fêmeas têm o dorso do abdômen marcado por pares de manchas escuras. As quelíceras e o primeiro par de pernas dos machos também são frequentemente robustos e alongados. Apesar de ser uma das maiores subfamílias de Salticidae, Dendryphantinae apresenta uma grande homogeneidade morfológica ao longo de todos seus subgrupos. A falta de caracteres diagnósticos para seus gêneros causou a descrição de um número indiscriminado de novos gêneros com limites pouco estabelecidos. Devido a isso, a classificação atual da subfamília encontra-se em um nível caótico e precisa ser revisada sob um ponto de vista filogenético. Em 2001, foi conduzida uma análise filogenética para a subfamília, utilizando dados moleculares, para investigar sua filogenia e evolução. A amostragem usada, entretanto, não permitiu muitas conclusões, e a posição de cerca de 30 gêneros de Dendryphantinae não incluídos nessa análise ainda é incerta. Baseando-se em uma filogenia mais inclusiva, problemas sobre a sistemática do grupo poderiam ser resolvidos; grupos naturais de gêneros poderiam ser revisados, permitindo sua simplificação e fácil reconhecimento. Devido à morfologia extremamente conservativa no grupo, dados moleculares são necessários para a reconstrução de sua filogenia. Os principais objetivos deste trabalho foi o seqüenciamento de quatro regiões de DNA (os nucleares 28S e Actina e os mitocondriais 16S e ND1) para dendrifantíneos ainda não amostrados em estudos anteriores, permitindo a reconstrução filogenética da subfamília inteira, bem como uma revisão preliminar dos gêneros da subfamília e estudos preliminares sobre biogeografia e evolução de caracteres no grupo. Neste estudo, tentamos amostrar a maior diversidade possível de linhagens de dendrifantíneos, incluindo quase todos os gêneros descritos, algumas espécies incertae sedis e linhagens de espécies não descritas. No total, 85 espécies inétidas de dendrifantíneos tiverem seu DNA sequenciado neste estudo. Desses táxons, a maioria provém da América Central e do Sul, mas alguns são de regiões do Velho Mundo, suplementando dados moleculares já acumulados para táxons da América do Norte. Além dos terminais de Dendryphantinae, utilizamos 40 terminais como grupo-externo, limitando a amostragem ao clado que inclui os Astioida, Baviinae, Ballinae e Marpissoida. No total, as análises contaram com 160 terminais. Para enraizar as árvores, utilizamos terminais de Astioida e Baviinae, nesta ordem de preferência, devido a sua próxima relação com o clado Marpissoida + Ballinae. Análises Bayesianas foram conduzidas utilizando o programa MrBayes (modelo GTR+I+). Foi permitida uma variação dos parâmetros do modelo entre partição de dados. Utilizamos dois conjuntos de partições, um com 8 e um conjunto com 4 partições. No primeiro, tratamos dados nucleares e mitocondriais independentemente. No segundo, tipos similares de DNA, nuclear ou mitocondrial, foram tratados como tendo padrões de evolução similares. Também inferimos árvores utilizando a Parcimônia Máxima para todos os genes independentemente e para a mesma matriz complete usada nas Análises Bayesianas. Análises de parcimônia foram conduzidas utilizando o programa TNT, tratando estados de caracteres como não-ordenados e gaps como missing data. Como resultado das Análises Bayesianas, os clados Ballinae, Marpissoida, Marpissinae, Synagelinae e Dendryphantinae foram recuperados como monofiléticos. A topologia geral encontrada pela Parcimônia Máxima para todos os genes concorda com as Análises Bayesianas: (Astioida (Baviinae (Ballinae (Synagelinae (Marpissinae (Dendryphantinae)))))). Dentro dos Dendryphantinae, o gênero Hentzia Marx é o grupo-irmão do restante da subfamília. Espécies deste gênero, juntamente com os gêneros Anicius Chamberlin, Macaroeris Wunderlich, Phanias F.O.P.-Cambridge, Homalattus White, Mabellina Chickering e Rudra Peckham & Peckham, são os únicos grupos de dendrifantíneos com fúsulos epiândricos. A perda desses fúsulos caracteriza um grande clado que inclui a maioria das espécies da subfamília. O clado dos dendrifantíneos infusulados inclui três grandes clados. O primeiro é representado pelo gênero Zygoballus Peckham & Peckham; o Segundo, tratado aqui como os Alcmenomorfos, é um grande clado que inclui Metaphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge e vários gêneros sul-americanos, como Chirothecia Taczanowski, Ashtabula Peckham & Peckham, Lurio Simon, Alcmena C.L. Koch e Admirala Peckham & Peckham; o terceiro clado, tratado aqui como os Dendrifantomorfos, inclui os gêneros Ramboia Mello-Leitão, Parnaenus Peckham & Peckham, o grupo Bagheera (Bagheera Peckham & Peckham, Gastromicans Mello-Leitão, Selimus Peckham & Peckham e espécies do grupo limbata de Messua), o grupo Bellota (Bellota Peckham & Peckham, Paradamoetas Simon e Sassacus Peckham & Peckham, entre outros gêneros) e um grande clado da América do Norte. O clado da América do Norte inclui Ghelna Maddison, Terralonus Maddison, Dendryphantes C.L. Koch, Tutelina Simon, Phidippus C.L. Koch, Paraphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge, Beata Peckham & Peckham, Eris C.L. Koch, Nagaina Peckham & Peckham e Pelegrina Franganillo. Apesar de a subfamília parecer ter tido sua origem no continente Americano, onde ela apresenta uma grande diversificação, os dendrifantíneos colonizaram o Velho Mundo pelo menos três vezes independentemente. Duas dessas invasões são provavelmente mais antigas e foram feitas por linhagens com fúsulos epiândricos (Macaroeris e Homalattus), enquanto a terceira parece ser mais recente, consuzida por um grupo infusulado, o gênero Dendryphantes, que ainda tem membros na América do Norte. Além de estudos biogeográficos, outros aspectos da evolução dos dendrifantíneos, como dimorfismo sexual secundário, mimetismo e evolução de estruturas sexuais, poderão ser inferidos com base na topologia apresentada. Esperamos que este trabalho aumente o interesse de aracnólogos no grupo e propicie revisões, novos trabalhos sobre filogenia e a descrição das centenas de espécies novas de Dendryphantinae que permanecem desconhecidas nas coleções aracnológicas. / The subfamily Dendryphantinae includes many hundreds of species with a carina on the retrolateral surface of the male chelicerae and male palps with a reduced spiral embolus. Despite being one of the largest subfamilies of jumping spiders, dendryphantine lineages present an unusual morphological homogeneity across the entire group. The lack of diagnostic characters for genera has caused the indiscriminate proposal of many genera with loose boundaries. Because of that, current classification of the group is chaotic and needs to be revised under a phylogenetic scope. Since morphology is especially conservative in Dendryphantinae, molecular data are of extreme importance for phylogenetic reconstructions in the group. The main goal of this work was to sequence four gene regions the nuclear 28S and Actin and the mitochondrial 16S and ND1 of dendryphantines in order to reconstruct the phylogeny of the entire subfamily, allowing future revisions of its systematics and the understanding of such large biodiversity. During this study, we tried to sample as great a diversity of dendryphantine lineages, including almost all described genera, some problematic incertae sedis species and some lineages of undescribed species. We sampled over 85 dendryphantine species that had never been used in molecular studies. These taxa are mostly from South and Central America, but also from regions in the Old World, supplementing previously gathered molecular data from North American taxa. In addition to the dendryphantine terminals, we used 40 terminals as outgroups, limiting sampling to the large clade that includes the Astioida, Baviinae, Ballinae and Marpissoida. In total, analyses counted with 160 terminals. To root the trees, we used terminals of Astioida and Baviinae, in this order of preference, due to their close relationship to the Marpissoida + Ballinae clade. 11 Bayesian analyses were done using MrBayes (GTR+I+ model). Model parameters were permitted to differ among data partitions. We had two sets of partitions, one set with 8 and one set with 4 partitions. For the first set, we treated nuclear data independently from mitochondrial. For the second set of partitions, similar DNA types, nuclear or mitrochondrial, were treated as having similar evolution patterns. We also inferred trees using Maximum Parsimony for all the genes independently and for the same complete matrix used in the Bayesian analyses. Parsimony analyses were done using TNT, treating character states as unordered and gaps as missing data. As the result of the Bayesian analyses, the clades Ballinae, Marpissoida, Marpissinae, Synagelinae and Dendryphantinae were recovered as monophyletic. The general topology found by Maximum Parsimony for the All-Genes matrix agrees with the Bayesian analyses: (Astioida (Baviinae (Ballinae (Synagelinae (Marpissinae (Dendryphantinae)))))). Within the Dendryphantinae, the genus Hentzia Marx is the sister to the rest of the subfamily. Species of this genus, along with those of Anicius Chamberlin, Macaroeris Wunderlich, Phanias F.O.P.-Cambridge, Homalattus White, Mabellina Chickering and Rudra Peckham & Peckham, are the only groups of dendryphantines that have epiandrous fusules. The loss of these fusules characterizes a large clade that includes most dendryphantines. The clade of the infusulate dendryphantines includes three major lineages. The first is the genus Zygoballus Peckham & Peckham; the second, treated here as the Alcmenomorphs (nom. nov.), is a huge clade that includes Metaphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge and several South American genera, such as Chirothecia Taczanowski, Ashtabula Peckham & Peckham, Lurio Simon, Alcmena C.L. 12 Koch and Admirala Peckham & Peckham; the third lineage, treated here as the Dendryphantomorphs (nom. nov.), includes the genera Ramboia Mello-Leitão, Parnaenus Peckham & Peckham, the Bagheera group (Bagheera Peckham & Peckham, Gastromicans Mello-Leitão, Selimus Peckham & Peckham and species of the Messua limbata group), the Bellota group (Bellota Peckham & Peckham, Paradamoetas Simon and Sassacus Peckham & Peckham, among other genera) and a huge clade from North America. The North American clade includes Ghelna Maddison, Terralonus Maddison, Dendryphantes C.L. Koch, Tutelina Simon, Phidippus C.L. Koch, Paraphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge, Beata Peckham & Peckham, Eris C.L. Koch, Nagaina Peckham & Peckham and Pelegrina Franganillo. Despite the fact that the subfamily seems to be a group originated on the American continent, where it presents a great diversification, dendryphantines have reached the Old World at least three times independently. Two of these invasions are probably older and were carried out by lineages with epiandrous fusules, namely Macaroeris and Homalattus (former Rhene Thorell), while the third seems to be a very recent invasion by an infusulate group, the genus Dendryphantes, who still has members in North America. Besides biogeographical studies, many other aspects of their evolution can be inferred based on this topology, such as the evolution of sexual secondary dimorphism (e.g. the chelicerae), mimicry (beetles/ants) or the evolution of male palp/epigynum structures. Based on this phylogenetic hypothesis, we will be able to revise natural groups of genera with criticism, allowing their taxonomic simplification and easier recognition. We hope that this work increases the interest of other arachnologists on the group and propitiates the description of the several hundred new species that remain unknown and unnamed.

Um dos principais desafios no estudo da biodiversidade é o mapeamento de grupos faunísticos megadiversos. O mapeamento da biodiversidade auxilia na avaliação dos padrões de distribuição e riqueza de espécies e de suas comunidades, na compreensão de características ambientais e, consequentemente, dos fatores ecológicos por trás da especialização das espécies ao meio. Nesse trabalho foi avaliada a diversidade de aranhas (Araneae) coletadas em cavernas do Brasil, com o objetivo de determinar e classificar a araneofauna de cavernas. Um banco de dados composto por 29261 aranhas adultas oriundos de 3455 cavernas do Brasil foi elaborado. Foram determinadas 179 espécies nomeadas e 428 morfoespécies, totalizando 607 espécies, distribuídas em 59 famílias. Apresentamos os dados históricos dos estudos bioespeleológicos no Brasil com ênfase em aranhas entre 1972-2015, uma nova listagem das espécies nominadas e o mapeamento da distribuição dessas espécies, sendo este disponível para consulta em uma ferramenta virtual, o AppBio. Foi avaliada a diversidade funcional das espécies determinadas com base nos comportamentos de forrageamento conhecidos para as aranhas. Uma análise de guildas foi elaborada e as espécies foram classificadas ecológico-evolutiva em grupos funcionais, determinados pelo grau de relação das populações-fonte com o ambiente cavernícola (acidental, trogloxeno, troglófilo e troglóbio), categorias clássicas propostas por Schiner-Racovitza para as espécies subterrâneas. Características morfológicas que indicam preferência pelo ambiente hipógeo (ex. anoftalmia e despigmentação corporal) e especialização à vida no ambiente subterrâneo também foram avaliadas. Os padrões de riqueza tanto dos grupos funcionais como macroecológicos (ex. latitude e altitude) foram avaliados e discutidos de forma sucinta. A riqueza regional também foi avaliada sendo agrupada pela ocorrência das espécies em cavernas de diferentes Biomas brasileiros. Uma boa base de dados e um modelo de mapeamento e disponibilização desses dados de forma virtual foram elaborados para auxiliar nos estudos da fauna de aranhas cavernícolas e para definir propostas para preservação da fauna e conservação dos ambientes subterrâneos / One of the main challenges in the study of biodiversity is the mapping of megadiverse faunal groups. Biodiversity mapping assists in assessing patterns of distribution and species richness and their communities, understanding environmental characteristics and, consequently, ecological factors behind the species\' specialization to the environment. This work evaluated the diversity of spiders (Araneae) collected in caves in Brazil, with the objective of determining and classifying the araneofauna of caves. A database consisting of 29261 adult spiders from 3455 caves in Brazil was prepared. There were 179 named species and 428 morphospecies, totaling 607 species, distributed in 59 families. We present the historical data of the biospeleological studies in Brazil with a spider focus between 1972-2015, a new listing of the nominated species and the mapping of the species distribution, being available for consultation in a virtual tool, AppBio. It was evaluated the functional diversity of the determined species based on the known foraging behaviors for the spiders. An analysis of guilds was elaborated and the species were classified ecologically-evolutionary in functional groups, determined by the degrees of relation of the source populations with the cave environment (accidental, trogloxene, troglophile and troglobite), classical categories proposed by Schiner-Racovitza for subterranean species. Morphological characteristics indicating preference for the hypogeum environment (eg. anophthalmia and body depigmentation) and specialization in life in the underground environment were also evaluated. The richness patterns of both the functional and macroecological groups (eg. latitude and altitude) were evaluated and discussed succinctly. The regional richness was also evaluated by separating by the occurrence of the species in caves of different Brazilian Biomes. A good database and a model for mapping and making this data available in a virtual way were developed to assist in the study of cave spider fauna and to define proposals for preserving fauna and conserving underground environments