New spider species has been named after ASU Professor Alexander I. Shmakov
The article describes 4 new species inhabiting Mongolia and Tajikistan. The author has provided the revision of Synaphosus genus. The new data was obtained in the course of processing museum collections and original materials, which had been gathered during expeditions to South-West Mongolia organized by A.I. Shmakov and R.V. Yakovlev. One of the species of the South-West Gobi Desert has been named after Professor Alexander I. Shmakov (Synaphosus shmakovi).
“Research of biological diversity is an important task facing the biologists of Altai State University. Our specialists are currently working on the world’s fauna. We have published quite a number of articles concerning the biota of Australia, Africa and South America. Although, our top priority is research of Central Asia, and our zoologists and botanists make great progress in this sphere,” said postgraduate’s scientific supervisor Roman V. Yakovlev.
The expedition was carried out under the supervision of R.V. Yakovlev in late spring of 2015 mainly in the Dzungarian Gobi (South-West Mongolia). The new species was found in lower reaches of the Bodonchiyn Gol River, which flows from the mountains of Mongolian Altai and runs dry in the Gobi Desert. The biotope occupied by the new species is a stony desert at a height of 1,300 meters above sea level.
“The majority of Synaphosus generic types live in the territories located southwestward from here, such as the deserts of Middle East and south of Central Asia. Synaphosus representatives from Mongolia remained unknown before our research at all,” specified Alexander Fomichev. “During two last year’s expeditions to Mongolia we discovered about 15 new spider species inhabiting Western Mongolia. In the near future the description of these species will be published in journals listed in Web of Science. The new species has been named after A.I. Shmakov as a thank-you for his great help in organizing expeditions to Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Altai.”
