Bolivia 2025
 

With respect to Pholcidae, Bolivia is one of the most poorly studied countries in the world. Only 190 adult specimens representing 14 species are reported in the literature, and a large percentage of these are from a single locality (near Yucumo in the Yungas NE of La Paz) that was explored in detail in the late 1980ies by a US American team of arachnologists. I published on this material in 2000, but since then, nothing has been added on Bolivian pholcids. In November and December 2025 I travelled over 3000 km though the Provinces of Santa Cruz, Bení, La Paz, Oruro, and Cochabamba, and collected over 700 adult specimens at more than 30 localities ranging from 160 m to 4100 m. A first preliminary list counts approximately 44 species, 32 of them new. Particularly diverse are the genera Aymaria and Chibchea. Most surprising is the fact that different species of Chibchea have adapted to a range of different microhabitats, resulting in extremely different body shapes, sizes, coloration, and leg lengths. This phenomenon has been described in some detail in other pholcid genera (such as Mesabolivar; see Huber 2018) but has not been known for Chibchea. Photos above: Six new species of Chibchea, including a large space-dweller (upper row, left), a leaf-dweller (upper row, middle), ground dwellers (upper row right, lower row left) and litter-dwellers (lower row middle and right).