Two new species of the genus Leptoneta Simon, 1872 (Araneae: Leptonetidae) from Korea

Abstract

Leptonetids are very tiny (1.0­3.0 mm) haplogyne spi­ ders. Most species have six distinctively arranged eyes with the anterior median eyes absent. Their legs are long and slender. They construct irregular sheet webs in plant litter on the ground or in the corner of caves and mines. Currently, Leptonetidae is composed of 22 genera, with 72 described species in the genus Leptoneta occurring in the Europe, Mediterranean region, and Southeast and Fareast Asia (Platnick 2014). In Korea, 19 species of Leptoneta have been recorded from caves and plant lit­ ter (Paik et al., 1969; Paik, 1980; 1985; Paik and Seo, 1982; 1984; Namkung, 1987; 2001; Seo, 1989; Kim, Lee, and Namkung, 2004; Kim et al., 2004). Most of Korean letonetid spiders showed high regional ende­ mism because they are not found in areas other than type localities. This paper describes two new litter­inhabiting leptonetids, Leptoneta chilbosanensis sp. nov. from Mt. Chilbosan, Gyeonggi­do, and Lepto neta naejangsanensis sp. nov. from Mt. Naejangsan, Jeollabuk­do Chung­ cheongbuk­do, from Korea.