Spiders of Albania – Faunistic and Zoogeographical Review (Arachnida: Araneae)

The spider fauna of Albania is still insuffi ciently studied. The present list was compiled after a critical review of the existing literature data and taxonomic review of some available collections. The study comprises 335 species from 36 families. In this number, 197 species are new to the spider fauna of the country. According to their current distribution the species can be assigned to 18 zoogeographical categories, grouped into 5 complexes (Cosmopolitic, Holarctic, European, Mediterranean, Endemics). Dominant are Holarctic species (56.4%) followed by European (16.4%) and Mediterranean (16.2%). The endemics (8%) are also well presented and refl ect the local character of the fauna and the main role of the Balkan Peninsula in its origin and formation.The research received also support from the SYNTHESYS Project which is fi nanced by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP6 ‘Structuring the European Research Area’ Program.Peer reviewe