ARACHNID COMMUNITIES IN MESQUITE GRASSLAND AND SHINNERY OAK SCRUB AT YOAKUM DUNES WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, COCHRAN COUNTY

A taxonomic survey of the arachnid fauna was conducted at the Yoakum Dunes Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Cochran County, Texas during the years of 2017, 2018, and 2019. Yoakum Dunes WMA was established by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in 2014. No surveys of its invertebrate fauna have been undertaken at Yoakum Dunes to date. Arachnids were sampled using a combination of pitfall trapping, sweep netting, and general collecting. Eight pitfall arrays were deployed, four in mesquite habitat and four in shinnery oak habitat and were used to capture arachnids for one-week periods. Eight sweep samples and eight general collecting samples were also gathered during each sampling period. Members of five arachnid orders were captured at the site: spiders (Araneae), scorpions (Scorpiones), sun spiders (Solifugae), pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpiones) and mites (Acari). A total of 31 families, 68 genera, and 100 species of arachnids were identified, broken down as follows: Acari, four families, eight genera (species were not identified); Araneae, 20 families, 53 genera, and 85 species; Scorpiones: two families, three genera, and four species; Pseudoscorpiones: two families and two genera; Solifugae: one family, two genera, and two species. All identified species of non-scorpion arachnids collected represent new records for Cochran County. Most notably, three species of spiders, Agyneta fratrella (Chamberlin, 1919; Linyphiidae), Piabuna pallida (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935; Phrurolithidae), and Allocosa morelosiana (Gertsch & Davis 1940; Lycosidae) were documented in Texas for the first time.