Note sulle specie ipogee del genere Eukoenenia in Piemonte: distribuzione, habitat, comportamento (Arachnida, Palpigradi: Eukoeneniidae)

Palpigradi are an order of Arachnida including species characterized by millimetric size and provided with a flagellum at apex of the opistosoma. A few species are known, most of them recently discovered; the hypogean ones so far described are markedly adapted to the subterranean environment. They have been considered very rare until a few years ago, due to their tiny size and habitat which makes their sampling and study difficult. In this paper, we reported a synthesis of the distribution known so far of the genus Eukoenenia in Piedmont and adjacent areas (Northwestern Alps, Italy), with records of new localities and some preliminary notes on their habitat and behaviour observed in nature on many specimens.