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Because of their ability for aerial dispersal using silk and preference for open habitats, many wolf spiders are formidable colonisers. Pioneering arachnologists were already aware of the large and colourful wolf spiders in the Madeira archipelago, currently included in the genus Hogna Simon, 1885. The origins were investigated and species boundaries of Madeiran Hogna examined by integrating target-gene and morphological information. A multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of a thorough sampling across wolf-spider diversity suggested a single origin of Madeiran endemics, albeit with low support. Divergence time estimation traced back their origin to the late Miocene, a time of major global cooling that drove the expansion of grasslands and the associated fauna. Morphological examination of types and newly collected material revealed a new species, hereby described as H. isambertoi Crespo, sp. nov. Additionally, H. blackwalli is revalidated and three new synonymies are proposed, namely H. biscoitoi Wunderlich, 1992, junior synonym of H. insularum Kulczynski, 1899, H. schmitzi Wunderlich, 1992, junior synonym of H. maderiana (Walckenaer, 1837), and Arctosa maderana Roewer, 1960 junior synonym of H. ferox (Lucas, 1838). Species delimitation analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear markers provided additional support for morphological delineations. The species pair H. insularum and H. maderiana, however, constituted an exception: the lack of exclusive haplotypes in the examined markers, along with the discovery of intermediate forms, pointed to hybridisation between these two species as reported in other congeneric species on islands. Finally, the conservation status of the species is discussed and candidates for immediate conservation efforts are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The woodlouse hunter Dysdera spiders have colonized all Macaronesian archipelagos. We report here for the first time an evolutionary connection between the Iberian Peninsula, Madeira, and the remote archipelago of Azores. Based on museum specimens from the 1950s, we describe the first endemic Dysdera species from the Azores. Additionally, we report the recent collection of immature individuals related yet probably not conspecific to the new species, rejecting previous suggestions that the endemic lineage had gone extinct. A multi-locus target phylogeny revealed that an undescribed species from Madeira was the closest relative to the Azores lineage, and that both island taxa were in turn sister to an Iberian endemic species, within a mostly Iberian clade. Interestingly, the Madeiran relative was not closely related to the remaining endemic species reported in the archipelago, suggesting an independent colonization. A divergence time estimation analysis unravelled that Dysdera colonized both archipelagos early after their emergence. The colonization pathway remains ambiguous, but the Iberian Peninsula acted as the ultimate source of the ancestral colonizers. Finally, we describe the new species Dysdera cetophonorum Crespo & Arnedo sp. nov. from Pico and Dysdera citauca Crespo & Arnedo, sp. nov. from Ilhéu de Cima (Porto Santo) and redescribe and illustrate the female genitalia for the first time of their poorly known closest relative, Dysdera flavitarsis Simon, 1882 from the north-western Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysdera is a highly speciose genus of mid-sized, nocturnal hunting spiders, mostly circumscribed to the Mediterranean. The genus managed to colonize all Macaronesian archipelagos, and underwent major diversification in the Canary Islands. Here, we report on an independent diversification event on the Madeira archipelago. Based on the integration of morphological and molecular evidence, we describe 8 new species to science, Dysdera dissimilis sp. nov. , Dysdera exigua sp. nov. , Dysdera isambertoi sp. nov. , Dysdera precaria sp. nov. , Dysdera recondita sp. nov. , Dysdera sandrae sp. nov. , Dysdera teixeirai sp. nov. , Dysdera titanica sp. nov. and redescribe Dysdera coiffaiti , Dysdera diversa and Dysdera portisancti. We synonymize Dysdera longibulbis and Dysdera vandeli under D. coiffaiti and D. diversa , respectively. Additionally, we use a multilocus target gene phylogeny to support a single colonization event of the archipelago followed by in situ diversification. We further discuss the discovered diversity patterns and their drivers. We conclude to that many of the species inhabit disturbed or fragile habitats and should be considered of high conservation concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]