ADDITIONS TO THE SPIDER FAUNA OF PUERTO RICO

Abstract

In 1929-30, Dr. Petrunkevitch published an extensive report on the spiders of Puerto Rico based on collections he made there during a five months visit to the island in the fall and winter of 1925-26, with additional material from the American Museum of Natural History and the Cornell University Collection. In all, 174 species were identified of which 72 were described as new. In the introduction, Dr. Petrunkevitch states that our knowledge of the spider fauna of the island is far from complete. Many species, both new and old, still remain known from a single sex. Also, collections have been made from comparatively few localities and not at all seasons of the year. Two short visits to the island have been made by collectors from the museum. In the spring of 1938, Dr. P. J. Darlington spent a few weeks in some of the places where Petrunkevitch had been, but at a different season of the year, and in February, 1941, C. T. Parsons collected for four days at El Yunque. Recently these collections have been examined and the following eleven species have been recognized as new.