title: The orb-weaving spider genus Eustala Simon, 1895 (Araneae, Araneidae): eight new species, redescriptions, and new records.
abstract: Eight new species of Eustala Simon, 1895 are described from southern Brazil. Eustala guarani n. sp., from Paraná and E. catarina n. sp., from Santa Catarina, are based on males and females. Six species are described from Rio Grande do Sul: E. ericae n. sp., E. cidae n. sp., E. lisei n. sp., E. cuia n. sp., E. farroupilha n. sp., based on males and females, and E. eldorado n. sp., based only on males. Eustala mourei Mello-Leitão, 1947, from Paraná and E. ulecebrosa (Keyserling, 1892), described from Rio Grande do Sul are redescribed and illustrated. New records are given for Eustala albiventer (Keyserling, 1884), E. taquara (Keyserling, 1892), E. minuscula (Keyserling, 1892), E. itapocuensis Strand, 1916, E. photographica Mello-Leitão, 1944, E. levii Poeta, Marques & Buckup, 2010, and E. palmares, Poeta, Marques & Buckup, 2010. Eustala perfida Mello-Leitão, 1947, described from Paraná, and E. belissima Poeta, Marques & Buckup, 2010, from Rio Grande do Sul, are newly recorded from Uruguay. Distribution maps are provided.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Faculdade de Biociências, Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia (MCTP), Laboratório de Aracnologia, Prédio 40, Sala 125, Av. Ipiranga 6681, 90619-900, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.; Email: poetamr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Rita Muniz
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Poeta
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D013112:Spiders / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development