Notes on the Spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies

Spiders were opportunistically collected in 2006 and 2007 in the Turks and Caicos Islands during focused collecting of selenopid spiders. These samples were combined with a previous collection, and all were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. We found 28 families, 55 genera and 62 species. There appear to be several undescribed species, and the fauna incudes endemics, a mixture of widespread species, species only found on one or a few other islands as well as some apparently introduced species. Some species occur on both the Caicos and the Turks banks, whereas others are only found on one or the other. Additional work should be conducted using systematic collection methods covering more geographic regions, especially some of the less-developed areas of the Turks and Caicos Islands.