Specimen records of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) by monthly census for 3 years in forest areas of Yakushima Island, Japan

A comprehensive three-year inventory of spider biodiversity on Yakushima Island, Japan, reveals 31 families and 165 species or morphotypes, including undescribed and unidentified taxa. This study marks the first systematic trapping survey of spiders in Japan, providing critical insights into the island's unique forest ecosystem, which is partly designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Researchers used Malaise and window traps across five forests—two plantations and three natural forests—to collect 3487 specimens from 2006 to 2008. The data, preserved in ethanol and archived on the GBIF network, offer new baseline information for assessing forest health and biodiversity conservation efforts.

Osawa, T., Baba, Y., Suguro, T., Naya, N., & Yamauchi, T. (2017). Specimen records of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) by monthly census for 3 years in forest areas of Yakushima Island, Japan. Biodiversity Data Journal, 5. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.5.e14789