Sergei Zonstein

Tel Aviv University | TAU · Department of Zoology

Brignoliolus Ovchinnikov, 1999 stat. rev. originally described as a subgenus of Coelotes Blackwall, 1841 is rediagnosed, redescribed and elevated to the genus rank. This genus is distinguished from Coelotes by a lighter general colouration and a longer and thinner apical segment of the posterior lateral spinnerets, as well as by the distinctive sha...

an annotated list of nine species of Oecobius lucas, 1846, known from Israel to date, is given. five of them are recorded in the country for the first time; the previous tentative records of another two species in Israel are confirmed. two names, Hersiliola brachyplura strand, 1913 and Hersiliola b. demaculata strand, 1914 are considered junior sub...

Two new species, Palpimanus logunovi sp. n. (♂♀) and P. rakhimovi sp. n. (♂♀), are described from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan respectively. Lectotype has been designated for the poorly known species, P. sogdianus Charitonov, 1946 from Uzbekistan and is redescribed based on type and newly collected material. (Re)descriptions, figures, diagnoses, distr...

The spider genus Ikuma Lawrence, 1938, endemic to Namibia, is rediagnosed and redescribed based on the characters both species originally included in the genus and of the newly described I. larseni sp. nov. A new synonymy is proposed: I. squamata Lawrence, 1938, described from a sole female is recognized a junior synonym of the type species I. spic...

A new palpimanid genus, Sceliraptor gen. n., and two new species, S. murphiorum gen. n. et sp. n. (; type species) and S. jaegeri gen. n. et sp. n. (), are diagnosed and described from Kenya. In the shape of the anterior part of the carapace, and the structure of the eye group and legs, the new genus seems to be related to the chedimine genera Scel...

Deserts are characterized by unpredictable precipitation and extreme temperatures. Their fauna and flora are sensitive to anthropogenic environmental changes, and often recover slowly from environmental disasters. The effects of oil spills on the biota of desert regions, however, have scarcely been studied. We predicted that terrestrial invertebrat...

The primarily Afrotropical genus Euprosthenops Pocock, 1897 is recorded in the Western Palearctic for the first time. A diagnosis and an illustrated description of E. insperatus sp. nov. , based on a single male from southern Israel, are provided. Considering the structure of the male palp, the holotype of E. insperatus sp. nov. resembles males of...

The Filistatinae genus Sahastata Benoit, 1968 is distributed in arid and semi-arid areas, from westernmost Sahara to India, and includes seven known species. Four of these are only known from one sex, including Sahastata nigra (Simon, 1897), the type species. Here we present the first description of a male of this species collected near the type lo...

A new genus and three new species of the spider family Palpimanidae Thorell, 1870 from Kenya are described. Sceliscelis Oketch & Li, gen. nov. is close to Sarascelis Simon, 1887 and Scelidocteus Simon, 1907 but differs in the structure of the male palp. The new species reported are Sceliscelis marshi Oketch & Li, sp. nov., Scelidocteus taitave Oket...

Two new species of the palpimanid genus Diaphorocellus Simon, 1893, D. isalosp. nov. (♂♀), and D. jocqueisp. nov. (♂♀), are described from central and eastern parts of Madagascar, respectively. Along with D. rufus (Tullgren, 1910), these new species can be distinguished from other congeners by possessing a finely and densely spotted colouration of...

Filistata seclusa O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885, a species described from Himalayas was thought to be based on immature specimens. The study of one of the syntypes revealed that it is an adult female, which is selected as the lectotype and re-described. Somatic and endogyne morphology indicate that this species belongs to PholcoidesRoewer, 1960, a gen...

The Central Asian spider genus Anemesia Pocock, 1895 is rediagnosed and revised. The genus was found to contain 14 species: ♂♀ A. andreevae sp. nov. (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan); ♂♀ A. birulai (Spassky, 1937) (Turkmenistan); ♂♀ A. castanea sp. nov.; ♂♀ A. incana Zonstein, 2001, ♂♀ A. infumata sp. nov.; ♂♀ A. infuscata sp. nov.; ♂♀ A. karatauvi (Andreev...

A type species of the genus Steriphopus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873 is redescribed based on the topotype specimens from Sri Lanka. Endogyne and details of the male palp are described in details for the first time. The genus belongs to Chediminae and currently encompasses four species distributed from the Seychelles to Burma. Relationships of the gen...

Four new Malagasy species of Entypesa Simon, 1902, E. andohahela sp. nov. (♂♀), E. enakara sp. nov. (♂), E. fisheri sp. nov. (♀), and E. rastellata sp. nov. (♂), are diagnosed and described from specimens deposited in the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA). All of them are clearly distinguishable from the known Madagascan congeners E. n...

Ancylotrypa elongata Purcell, 1908 is redescribed on the base of the holotype and specimens collected from Botswana; the male of this species is described for the first time.

Acontius nimba sp.n. (♂♀) and A. kiriba sp.n. (♂♀) are described from Guinea and Burundi, respectively. Due to the similar structure of the male palp, the former resembles the Guinean A. stercoricola (Denis, 1955), while the latter looks to be related to the Eastern Congolese A. machadoi (Lawrence, 1938). However, both new species differ from their...

A new species, Filistata pygmaea sp.n., is described based on both sexes from Portugal. It is the smallest species among all Filistata known from the Mediterranean and Iran. Comparative figures of the vulva of all Filistata species ocurring west of Afghanistan are provided.

Scelidomachus socotranus Pocock, 1899, the type species of Scelidomachus Pocock, 1899 is redescribed based on the holotype and paratype males from Socotra. The genus is rediagnozed.

The genus Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 is found to be represented in Western Asia by 16 species: ♂♀ R. adjarica sp. nov. (Georgia), ♂ R. anadolu sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂ R. arthuri Kunt & Yağmur, 2010 (Turkey), ♂ R. birecikensis sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂♀ R. dunini sp. nov. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran), ♂♀ R. hyrcanica Dunin, 1988 (Azerbaijan), ♂ R. marusiki sp....

The monotypic genus Mystes Bristowe, 1938, and its type species, M. oonopiformis Bristowe, 1938, are redescribed based on the neotype male (designated here) and several females. The male is described for the first time and the female endogyne is illustrated for the first time. Morphological analysis reveals that the genus belongs to the Prithinae a...

Sahastata infuscata (Kulczyński, 1901) is redescribed for the first time based on a holotype female from Eritrea. It is removed from synonymy with Filistata puta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 and Sahastata nigra (Simon, 1897). The vulva of Sahastata nigra, the type species of the genus, is illustrated correctly for the first time, based on a syntype f...

A monotypic Chedima Simon, 1873, the nominative genus of the subfamily Chediminae, and its type species C. purpurea Simon, 1873, are redescribed. The copulatory organs of C. purpurea are illustrated for the first time. The morphological study of the genus reveals several features previously unknown in the Palpimanidae, or in the Entelegynae, or eve...

We report the remnants of five new scorpion specimens discovered dead in Levana Cave in Israel in December 2015. We confirm that they belong to the relict scorpion Akrav israchanani Levy, 2007 (Akravidae), famously described from the neighboring Ayyalon Cave, also from dead specimens. The details of morphology of the new specimens are given; they m...

Two new genera of chedimine palpimanids are described. Chedimanops gen. n. includes the type species, C. eskovi sp. n. (♂♀), and C. rwenzorensis sp. n. (♂♀), both from the far eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Rwenzori Mts.). The monotypic Hybosidella gen. n. is based on H. etinde sp. n. (♂) from Cameroon. The new genera differ from...

New data on the composition and distribution of the previously monotypic genus Levymanus Zonstein & Marusik, 2013 are provided. The type species L. gershomi Zonstein & Marusik, 2013 is recorded for the first time from the UAE, and L. ras sp. n., a second member of this genus, is described from a female collected in Ethiopia. The new species differs...

Two new genera of chedimine palpimanids are described. Chedimanops gen. n. includes the type species, C. eskovi sp. n. (♂♀), and C. rwenzorensis sp. n. (♂♀), both from the far eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Rwenzori Mts.). The monotypic Hybosidella gen. n. is based on H. etinde sp. n. (♂) from Cameroon. The new genera differ from...

The type species of Diaphorocellus Simon, 1893, the South African D. biplagiatus Simon, 1893, is redescribed, and the male is described for the first time. The species is diagnosed and figured in detail, including the copulatory organs of both sexes, previously undescribed for any species of the genus. New distributional data of D. biplagiatus are...

The spider genus Zaitunia Lehtinen, 1967 (Araneae, Filistatidae) is revised. It was found to include 24 species distributed in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia: ♀ Z. afghana (Roewer, 1962) (Afghanistan), ♀ Z. alexandri Brignoli, 1982 (Iran), ♀ Z. akhanii Marusik & Zamani, 2015 (Iran), ♂♀ Z. annulipes (Kulczyński, 1908) (Cypru...

A redescription of a poorly known filistatid spider Tricalamus tetragonius Wang 1987 (whose types are probably lost), the type species of the widespread Asian genus, is provided on the base of the conspecific series collected in south China. The considered species differs from other members of the genus by structure of a moderately long, flattened,...

The first Sumatran representatives of Atmetochilus Simon, 1887, the genus formerly known only from two species from Myanmar and one species from India, are currently revealed and reviewed. Three new species (listed below) are described and the current concept of Atmetochilus is redefined following study of the male characters previously almost comp...

The formerly monotypic African genus Pionothele Purcell is shown to comprise two members, the type species P. straminea Purcell, 1902 and P. capensis n. sp., described here. The distribution of both sympatric species is confined to the Cape Peninsula and adjacent territories. The new species differs from P. straminea by having a noticeably better d...

This paper presents a survey of spider species that have not been previously recorded for Israel. Twenty species, twelve genera and two families (Mysmenidae and Phyxelididae) are recorded for the first time in Israel. Nine species, Agroeca parva Bosmans, 2011, Aulonia kratochvili Dunin et al., 1986, Ero flammeola Simon, 1881, Hogna ferox (Lucas, 18...

Phrurolithus C.L. Koch, 1839, with 71 named species, is the largest genus of the family Phrurolithidae, which contains 188 species belonging to 14 genera (Platnick 2014). It has an almost exclusively Holarctic distribution: 34 species are known from the Palaearctic, 35 are known from the Nearctic and two species are known from Hispaniola. The genus...

Eight new species, seven Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 and one Sinopesa Raven & Schwendinger, 1995 from China and Vietnam are described: Raveniola alpina sp. n., Raveniola bellula sp. n., Raveniola chayi sp. n., Raveniola gracilis sp. n., Raveniola rugosa sp. n., Raveniola spirula sp. n. and Raveniola yajiangensis sp. n. and Sinopesa ninhbinhensis sp. n...

The first mainland African representative of Andoharano Lehtinen, 1967, A. ansieae sp. n., is described from north-eastern Namibia on the basis of both sexes. The new species differs from other congeners in peculiarities of coloration in both sexes, as well as in possessing a small thorn at the base of the embolus. The receptacles of Andoharano are...

A survey of Filistata Latreille, 1810 occurring in the Middle East is provided. Two species occur in region: the trans-Mediterranean F. insidiatrix (Forsskal, 1775) and the new species, F. lehtineni sp.n., from Azerbaijan. The two species are illustrated and a detailed description is provided for the new species. The distribution of F. insidiatrix...

Ummidia mischi sp.n. is described from the three males collected from south Afghanistan (Kandagar). The new species can be distinguished from the closest congener U. ganjinoi (Andreeva, 1968) by the noticeably narrower carapace, the more widely spaced anterior median eyes, the longer palpal tibia and details of the distal part of embolus.

An illustrated redescription of a poorly known nemesiid Damarchus cavernicola Abraham, 1924 = Latouchia batuensis Roewer, 1962, syn.n., found only in Batu Caves, Malaysia is provided. An Indian species Damarchus bifidus Gravely, 1935 is transferred to the related genus Atmetochilus, and a new combination A. bifidus (Gravely, 1935), comb.n. is estab...

Types of three filistatid species described by Roewer (1960, 1962) from Afghanistan are redescribed and two of them transferred to other filistatid genera. The new combinations proposed are: Zaitunia afghana (Roewer 1962) comb. n. (ex. Filistata Latreille, 1810) and Tricalamus lindbergi (Roewer, 1962) comb. n. (ex. Pritha Lehtinen, 1967). The taxon...

The male of Zelotes haifaensis Levy, 2009, is described for the first time from topotype material. The species is restricted to the Carmel Range, northern Israel.

AbstractLevymanus gershomi gen. n. et sp. n., is described from southern Israel. The eye arrangement and structure of the male palp indicate that this genus belongs to Chediminae Simon, 1893. Levymanus gen. n. differs from other chedimine genera by its unusually long and slender legs, an elongate body, a unique shape of the bipartite thoracic fovea...

This checklist records 631 spider species and subspecies belonging to 49 families in Israel. Species distributions are given in both generalised (by main geographic areas of the country) and detailed (by localities) form. Twenty-seven records are considered as doubtful and another ten are based on misidentifications. A historical survey is provided...

The Chinese representatives of Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 are currently recognized to comprise seven species. Four new species – Raveniola montana sp. n. (♂♀), Raveniola shangrila sp. n. (♂), Raveniola songi sp. n. (♂) and Raveniola yunnanensis sp. n. (♂) – are described from the highlands of Yunnan Province, China. According to some characters (shap...

Phyxioschema raddei Simon, 1889 is revised. A re-examination of type specimens confirms the synonymy of P. raddeiand Ischnothele strandi Spassky, 1937, but the synonymy of Afghanothele lindbergi Roewer, 1960 and A. striatipesRoewer, 1960 cannot be confirmed due to the immature state of their types. The copulatory organs of the female holotype and o...

Three species of Synaphris occurring in the East Mediterranean - Synaphris orientalis Marusik & Lehtinen, 2003, Synaphris lehtineni Marusik, Gnelitsa & Kovblyuk, 2005 and Synaphris letourneuxi (Simon, 1884) - are surveyed; and a new species - Synaphris wunderlichisp. n. - is described from southern Israel on the basis of males. The new species diff...

Raveniola niedermeyeri (Brignoli, 1972), a poorly known species, is rediagnosed and redescribed from the types and from recently collected material from northern and central regions of Iran. This species differs from its congeners in having the male embolus curved distally, as well as in the unique conformation of the spermathecae. New data on the...

Microfilistata ovchinnikovi new species (Araneae: Filistatidae), the second member of this formerly monotypic Central Asian genus, is described from Kyzyl-Dzhar Ravine, Southern Turkmenistan. The genus is redescribed and referred to the Filistatidae insertae sedis.

The caudata species-group of the genus Raveniola Zonstein 1987 is newly established and reviewed. The group includes R. redikorzevi (Spassky 1937) from Turkmenistan and R. caudata sp. n. from Tajikistan. Both members of the group differ from other congeners by the much longer posterior lateral spinnerets with long-digitiform apical segment, as well...

The caudata species-group of the genus Raveniola Zonstein 1987 is newly established and reviewed. The group includes R. redikorzevi (Spassky 1937) from Turkmenistan and R. caudata sp. n. from Tajikistan. Both members of the group differ from other congeners by the much longer posterior lateral spinnerets with long-digitiform apical segment, as well...

FIGURES 8, 9. Distal part of left palp showing palpus, retrolateral view. 1. Raveniola caudata sp. n., holotype male. 2. R. redikorzevi Spassky, conspecific male. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 1 – 7. Raveniola caudata sp. n., holotype male (1, 3, 5, 6, 8) and R. redikorzevi Spassky, conspecific male (2, 4, 7, 9). 1. Carapace and chelicerae, dorsal view. 2. Body in dorsal view. 3, 4. Sternum, labium, maxillae and chelicerae; ventral view. 5, 7. Left tibia and metatarsus I, retrolateral view. 6. Left palp, tibia to tarsus, retrolat...

Cryptocheilus ferghanensis (Kyrgyzstan) and C. sarbaz (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), are described as new, and nine other species are redescribed from the types or conspecific specimens. The males of C. moravitzi (Radoszkowski, 1877) and C. coeruleipennis Priesner, 1955 are described for the first time. New synonymies are established: Priocnemis sarafsc...

Two new monotypic genera of mygalomorph spiders are described from Eocene Baltic amber: Electwcteniia sadilenkoi gen. et sp. nov. and Baltocteniza kitlickae gen. et sp. nov.; both belong to the Ctenizidae Ctenizinae. The forms described are the first non-dipluroid mygalomorphs from Baltic amber.

A new species group, eremocanus, is proposed in Xenaporus for the following species: X. eremocanus Wolf (Central Asia), X. tamerlan Zonstein (Uzbekistan), X. vulpecula n. sp. (Uzbekistan), and Gonaporus freidbergi Wolf, new combination (Egypt (Sinai) and Israel). A key to species is given, descriptions and illustrations are provided for each specie...

The diagnosis of the poorly-known spider wasp genus, Claveliocnemis Wolf, 1968, is reviewed in view of a new species, C. alata n. sp., described from Tajikistan. Claveliocnemis contains two additional Asian species of brachypterous pepsine wasps, that feed as larvae on species of the burrowing mygalomorph spider genus Anemesia Pocock (Araneae, Cyrt...

The genus Zaitunia is rediagnosed, and Z. schmitzi (Kulczynski, 1911), the type species and only representative of the genus in Israel, is redescribed. Z. schmitzi, known hitherto only from the type locality in Israel, is recorded from Egypt (Sinai, Mt. Catharina) for the first time as well as from new locali-ties in Israel.