Contribution to spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) from Bjeshkët e Nemuna mountains (Kosovo)

Since Kosovo is the least explored territory in the Balkan Peninsula when it comes to the study of spider fauna, with large, untouched areas, we aim to explore it in detail. From Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains only 15 species have been reported. We collected and identified 323 spider specimens (88♂♂, 235♀♀) from April 2018 to August 2021 at 20 sites in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park between 529 and 2066 m a.s.l. These specimens belong to 90 species, 65 genera, and 23 families. Of these, 42 species, 13 genera, and 2 families are new records for the spider fauna of Kosovo, and 90 species are new for the mountains. As a result of our research, the list of species known from the studied region increased from 15 to 105 and the number of known spiders in Kosovo increased to 248 species