For the first time, a comprehensive assessment of spider diversity in the desert areas of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin has been carried out based on original materials, published scientific sources, and data from the publicly accessible resources GBIF and iNaturalist. To date, this is the only and most complete checklist of spiders in the region.
At the end of February 2026, the journal Biodiversity Data Journal published a study devoted to the spider fauna of the lowland and foothill arid part of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin (SE Kazakhstan). Scientists from the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (Moscow, Russia), and the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (Yekaterinburg, Russia) conducted, for the first time, an integrated assessment of spider diversity in the region by combining data from scientific literature published between 1896 and 2023, their own field collections from 2019–2025, and data from open sources (GBIF and carefully verified records from iNaturalist).
In total, the presence of 403 spider species from 158 genera and 31 families has been confirmed for the region, representing more than one third of the known spider fauna of Kazakhstan.
Twenty-nine species were recorded for the first time for the fauna of Kazakhstan, including five species new to science, which will be described later. Thus, the spider fauna of the Balkhash region is one of the richest desert faunas in Kazakhstan (for comparison, the fauna of Mangystau Region includes only 195 spider species, while the Kyzylkum Desert fauna comprises 188 species). At the same time, the authors note that the spider fauna of the region and of Kazakhstan’s deserts in general remains insufficiently studied.
Following its publication, according to the ResearchGate ranking, the article was the most read paper in Biodiversity Data Journal for two consecutive weeks.
To date, this study represents the most comprehensive synthesis of data on spiders in Kazakhstan and sets a new standard for faunistic research.
The results of the study expand knowledge of spider biodiversity in the region and may serve as a basis for future faunistic and zoogeographical research.
The research was conducted within the framework of the project “Cadastre of Wild Animals of the Arid Territories of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin with Assessment of Threats to Their Conservation and Sustainable Use” (IRN BR21882199), supported by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The most comprehensive checklist of spiders from the lowland and foothill parts of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin can be found in the following scientific publication: Nekhaeva A., Kim L., Ishayeva A., Ozernoy A., Sozontov A. (2026) Spider (Arachnida, Araneae) fauna of the lowland part of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin (SE Kazakhstan): an integrated assessment.
Nekhaeva A, Kim L, Ishayeva A, Ozernoy A, Sozontov A. (2026) Spider (Arachnida, Araneae) fauna of the lowland part of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin (SE Kazakhstan): an integrated assessment. Biodiversity Data Journal 14: e181501 https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.14.e181501
17.03.2026
Photo: Anatoly Ozernoy, Adjunct Researcher, Institute of Zoology