Spider collection of the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve

The database is a result of two-year investigation of the spider communities in nine different habitats in the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve, located in the south of the Moscow Region. The Reserve is characterized by the compound landscape, including the boreal, nemoralis, and steppe components. In particular, the “Oka flora” is a unique phenomenon evolved in the Oka river valley. Within the Forest Zone, the small steppe patches (about 1.5 ha) are situated, where grow typical steppe plants (feather-grass, fescue, etc.) separated from their main habitats by many hundreds of kilometers to the north. The place is considered to be the most northern locality of steppe plants on the Central Russian Upland. In total, 246 spider species from 23 families and 129 genera were recorded during the study.