Fauna and zoogeography of spiders (Araneae) in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is home to 975 species of spiders in 41 families. This number was established after a critical review of the existing, literature and taxonomic review of the available collections. The spiders are distributed in all districts of Bulgaria, occurring in lowlands, forests, mountains, caves and urban territories. According to their current distribution the established 975 species can be split into 27 zoogeographical categories, grouped into five major chorotypes (Cosmopolitan, Holarctic, European, Mediterranean, Endemics). The largest number of species belongs to the widely distributed species in the Holarctic, but the most characteristic are the endemics. Their established number (76 species) is high and reflects the local character of: the fauna. This phenomenon can be attributed to the relative isolation of the mountains compared with the lowlands in the context of paleo-enviromental changes since the Pliocene.