In September and October 2010 I visited the Brazilian Atlantic Forest for the fourth time in order to expand on a long-term project on the diversity and endemism of pholcids in this extraordinary biodiversity hotspot. Previous trips (2003, 2007, 2009) had revealed unusually high numbers of species at any locality and little species overlap among localities (Huber & Rheims 2011). In combination with the facts that only about 7% of the Atlantic Forest are left and that most of the forest fragments are relatively easily accessible, this explains why the area is extremely interesting for any study of the origin and maintenance of biodiversity.



Together with Janael Ricetti I first explored two localities in Paraná state (Serro e Gemido and Fazenda Rio Grande), both near Curitiba. However, species diversity was surprisingly low, so we continued further south to Reserva Volta Velha in Santa Catarina, a well preserved forest at sea level. Even here, seven pholcid species was all we could find, suggesting that extremely high numbers (>10) are limited to forests closer to the Equator.

The second part of the trip was devoted to two forests in Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo states: a forest near Santa Maria Madalena (foto above), and a forest near Vargem Alta (foto below).