A new Eukoenenia species from the Caucasus bridges a gap in the known distribution of palpigrades (Arachnida: Palpigradi)

Abstract

Eukoenenia vargovitshi sp. n. is described after a male from Nizhnyaya Shakuranskaya Cave, Abkhazia, Western Caucasus. The troglobiont species shares a peculiar and probably apomorphic character state with Eukoenenia pretneri from a cave in southern Croatia. The type locality of E. vargovitshi lies in the middle of a large area without previous palpigrade records, extending from Romania and Greece to northern India.