Checklist of the arthropod fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Almería and Granada, Spain)

Alberto Tinaut; Pedro J. Sandoval Cortés; Daniel Aguayo Becerra; Francisca Ruano Díaz; J. Manuel Tierno de Figueroa

doi:10.15470/nt5nsx

Checklist of the arthropod fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Almería and Granada, Spain)

Citation

Tinaut A, Sandoval Cortés P J, Aguayo Becerra D, Ruano Díaz F, Tierno de Figueroa J M (2026). Checklist of the arthropod fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Almería and Granada, Spain). Version 2.11. Dept. of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Granada. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15470/nt5nsx accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-06-04.

Description

This dataset contains the list of taxa of the arthropod fauna of Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Almería & Granada, Spain) presented in the form of a table adapted to the standard Darwin Core format. It includes the arthropod species and subspecies cited for the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, as well as their corresponding genera and families, with a total of 4296 records represented as 7 classes, 36 orders, 309 families, 2024 genera and 4287 species (of which 162 are endemic). Some species whose presence is not fully confirmed (68) have also been included. The main source we have used is the book Ruano et al. 2013, “Los Insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia". Moreover, we have completed the list with those taxa cited in the scientific literature after the publication of this book, or not included in it (see Bibliography section). We have checked all the taxa names with the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy tool and, when not found in this database, with the Iberian Fauna Data Bank (http://iberfauna.mncn.csic.es/). When it was impossible to find the taxa with the cited tools, we consulted the opinion of the corresponding Iberian group's specialist. In any case, the criteria of coherence, relevance and topicality have always been considered. Part of this material belongs to the scientific collections of the Zoology Department of the University of Granada and can be accessed at https://ccz.ugr.es/.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

This dataset covers the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain range, from east to west and from north to south, including the 44 municipalities that officially form part of the Sierra Nevada Natural Space, belonging to the provinces of Almería and Granada, from above 900 meters in altitude up to the high peaks.

Sampling

This project began 19 years ago and initially consisted of completing the list of insect species, in the first place, and of the rest of the arthropods cited for Sierra Nevada. In the current phase, a dataset has been created and is visible through GBIF, which is intended to be updated periodically.

Method steps

In a first phase, in which especially the articles that appeared during the 19th century were not easily available, we have reviewed the bibliography of works describing new species from this massif. We have also reviewed the bibliographical sources deposited in the following museums: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid, Museo de Zoología de Barcelona, Instituto Experimental de Zonas áridas (Almería), Estación Biológica de Doñana (Sevilla), Museé d’ Histoire Naturale (París), Zoological Institute (Basel), Central Library (Zurich) and British Museum of Natural History (London). The bibliographic bases of the Citation Index, ICYT and Spanish Index of Science and Technology were also consulted. The Zoological Records have been revised since 1865. Finally, we have had the help of different specialists, which has allowed us to complete some references and, in some cases, to facilitate the search. For the works of the second half of the 20th century and the current century we searched through different search engines such as Google Scholar and WOS. In all cases, the references obtained were in turn used as a source of information by consulting the bibliography contained in them to complete our database.
In a second phase, once the list of the Sierra Nevada arthropodfauna cited in the bibliography was obtained, a thorough process of standardization and verification of the fields included in the checklist was carried out (following the criteria of the DwC-A template for this type of dataset) as well as taxonomic validation using the GBIF Species Name Matching tool. Subsequently, the final dataset (metadata and data table) was published and shared through the Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) on the GBIF data portal.

Taxonomic Coverages

This dataset on the arthropod fauna of the Sierra Nevada mountain range includes the arthropod species that have been recorded in this territory and published in scientific literature, as well as their corresponding genera, families, orders, and classes.

Animalia
rank: kingdom
Arthropoda
rank: phylum
Arachnida
rank: class
Collembola
rank: class
Diplopoda
rank: class
Insecta
rank: class
Malacostraca
rank: class
Araneae
rank: order
Pseudoscorpiones
rank: order
Trombidiformes
rank: order
Poduromorpha
rank: order
Symphypleona
rank: order
Chordeumatida
rank: order
Julida
rank: order
Polydesmida
rank: order
Polyxenida
rank: order
Diplura
rank: order
Archaeognatha
rank: order
Blattodea
rank: order
Coleoptera
rank: order
Dermaptera
rank: order
Diptera
rank: order
Ephemeroptera
rank: order
Hemiptera
rank: order
Hymenoptera
rank: order
Lepidoptera
rank: order
Mecoptera
rank: order
Megaloptera
rank: order
Neuroptera
rank: order
Odonata
rank: order
Orthoptera
rank: order
Phasmida
rank: order
Plecoptera
rank: order
Raphidioptera
rank: order
Trichoptera
rank: order
Zygentoma
rank: order
Isopoda
rank: order
Scorpiones
rank: order
Entomobryomorpha
rank: order
Diplura
rank: class
Symphyla
rank: class
Opiliones
rank: order
Psocodea
rank: order
Thysanoptera
rank: order
Amphipoda
rank: order

Geographic Coverages

This dataset covers the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain range, from east to west and from north to south, including the 44 municipalities that officially form part of the Sierra Nevada Natural Space, belonging to the provinces of Almería and Granada, from above 900 meters in altitude up to the high peaks. It also includes other localities which, without forming part of this protected area, are located on the slopes of this mountain.

Bibliographic Citations

Aguado-Aranda, P., Ricarte, A., Nedeljkovi´c, Z., Kelso, S., van Eck, A.P.W., Skevington, J.H. & Marcos-García, M.A., 2023. Are Appearances Deceiving? Morpho-Genetic Complexity of the Eumerus tricolor Group (Diptera: Syrphidae) in Europe, with a Focus on the Iberian Peninsula. Insects, 14, 54: 1. -
Alba Tercedor, J. en Ruano, F., Tierno de Figueroa, M. y Tinaut, A. 2013. Los insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia. Ed. Asociación española de Entomología. 2 Vols. -
Alicata, P. & Cantarella, T., 1994. The Euro-mediterranean species of Icius (Araneae, Salticidae): a critical revisión and description of two new species. Animalia, 20: 111-131. -
Alonso-Zarazaga, M.A. en Ruano, F., Tierno de Figueroa, M. y Tinaut, A., 2013. Los insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia. Ed. Asociación española de Entomología. 2 Vols. -
Álvarez Fidalgo, P., van den Broek, R. & Pires, F., 2019. A new contribution to the knowledge of the distribution of the Asilids of Spain and Portugal (Diptera: Asilidae), including a new species for the Iberian Peninsula, Boletín Sociedad Aragonesa de Entomología, 65: 45-52. -
Anichtchencko, A., 2009. Redescripción de Platyderus spelaeus Cobos, 1961 (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Arquivos Entomoloxicos, 2: 33–37. -
Arcas, F., Sánchez, J.F. & Garre, M., 2025. Contribución al conocimiento de los Pyraloidea Latreille, 1809 de la provincia de Granada (España) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Crambidae). Boletín de la Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología, 35: 10-22. -
Assing, V., 2009. On some Oxypoda species of the subgenus Sphenoma MANNERHEIM (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2): 1314. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5276637 -
Ávila, J.M., Sánchez Megías, A., Márquez Ferrando, R. y Menéndez, R. en Ruano, F., Tierno de Figueroa, M. y Tinaut, A., 2013. Los insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia. Ed. Asociación española de Entomología. 2 Vols. -
Bahillo de la Puebla, P. y López-Colón, J.I. en Ruano, F., Tierno de Figueroa, M. y Tinaut, A., 2013. Los insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia. Ed. Asociación española de Entomología. 2 Vols. -
Bahillo, P. & Puebla, J.L.C., 2023. Notas sinonímicas sobre dasitinos ibéricos (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Dasytinae). Heteropterus Revista de Entomología. 23(2): 187-197. -
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Bolívar, I., 1884. Observations sur les Orthoptères d’Europe et du bassin de la Méditerranée, et description de cinq espèces nouvelles. Bulletin ou comptes rendus des séances de la Société Entomologique de Belgique, 28: 102–107. -
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Bosmans, R., Henrard, A., Benhalima, S. & Kherbouche-Abrous, O., 2017. The genus Clubiona Latreille, 1904 (Araneae: Clubionidae) in the Maghreb, with notes on the genevensis group and new records from the Mediterranean Region. Zootaxa, 4353: 1-28. -
Bosmans, R., Kherbouche-Abrous, O., Benhalima, S. & Hervé, C., 2018. The genus Haplodrassus Chamberlin, 1922 in the Mediterranean and the Maghreb in particular (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Zootaxa, 4451: 1-67. -
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Carles Tolrá, M., 2022. Especies nuevas de dípteros para la península ibérica e islas Baleares (Diptera: Nematocera y Brachycera-Orthorrhapha). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 70: 177–184. -
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Carles-Tolrá, M., 2023. Especies nuevas de dípteros para España y otras novedades faunísticas (Diptera, Brachycera, Acalyptratae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica aragonesa, 72: 11–18. -
Carles-Tolrá, M., 2024. Adiciones a la fauna dipterológica de Sierra Nevada (España). Boletín Asociación española de Entomología, 49(1-2): 145-148. -
Carles-Tolrá, M., 2024. Novedades faunísticas de dípteros calípteros para la península ibérica e islas Baleares (Diptera, Brachycera, Calyptratae). Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa de Entomología, 75: 35–42. -
Carles-Tolrá, M., Tinaut, A. Gilgado, J. y Ortuño, V., 2018. Presence of Crumomyia glacialis (Meigen, 1830) (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) in the Sierra Nevada and Sierra de Guadarrama National Parks (spain): first record from the Iberian Peninsula, and evidence of its presence in the mesovoid shallow substratum. Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 63: 182-186. -
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Contacts

Alberto Tinaut
originator
position: Researcher
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958243231
email: hormiga@ugr.es

Pedro J. Sandoval Cortés
originator
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: psandoval@ugr.es

Daniel Aguayo Becerra
originator
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: daguayo@ugr.es

Francisca Ruano Díaz
originator
position: Researcher
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958241000 ext. 20064
email: fruano@ugr.es

J. Manuel Tierno de Figueroa
originator
position: Researcher
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958241000 ext. 20099
email: jmtdef@ugr.es

Pedro J. Sandoval Cortés
metadata author
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: psandoval@ugr.es

Daniel Aguayo Becerra
metadata author
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: daguayo@ugr.es

Alberto Tinaut
metadata author
position: Researcher
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958243231
email: hormiga@ugr.es

Pedro J. Sandoval
administrative point of contact
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: psandoval@ugr.es

Daniel Aguayo Becerra
administrative point of contact
position: Technician
Department of Zoology. University of Granada
Campus Fuentenueva s/n
Granada
18071
Granada
ES
Telephone: +34 958245141
email: daguayo@ugr.es