Yuri M. Marusik

IBPN RAS · biocenology

A review of type material and newly collected material of the family Prodidomidae Simon, 1884 from Ascension Island is presented. Prodidomus clarki Cooke, 1964 is proposed as a junior synonym of Prodidomus rufus Hentz, 1847 syn. nov., and Prodidomus duffeyi Cooke, 1964 is deemed as a valid species but known only from a single bleached specimen, fur...

New data on the oecobiid spiders of the genus Oecobius Lucas, 1846 occurring in Iran and Azerbaijan are provided. Five species are described as new to science: O. dariusi sp. n. (♀; Alborz and Tehran ‒ northern Iran), O. melanocephalus sp. n. (♀; Lorestan, Razavi Khorasan, Semnan, and Tehran ‒ south-western, northern and north-eastern Iran; hithert...

An updated checklist of the gnaphosid spiders of Ascension Island – comprising five species, in five genera – is presented, based on examination of historical and new specimens from across Ascension, including its islet Boatswain Bird Island. The continued presence of the non-native Marinarozelotes jaxartensis (Kroneberg, 1875), Urozelotes rusticus...

Clubiona hitchinsi Saaristo, 2002, previously known from the Seychelles and French Polynesia, is newly recorded from Ascension Island, based on comparison of the Ascension specimens against two paratypes. The first detailed figures of the endogyne, based on a paratype, are provided. Characters in this species not found in European species of Clubio...

New data on Iranian spiders is provided based on 92 specimens collected from the interiors or surroundings of 27 caves. These specimens belong to 17 species in nine families, of which five species are described as new to science: Tegenaria pallens Zamani & Marusik, sp. n. (♂♀; Gakal Cave, Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad Province) (Agelenidae); Dysdera ela...

Two new species of Acantheis Thorell, 1891 are described from Sumatra Island: A. andreimishenini sp. n. (♂♀) and A. sergeimishenini sp. n. (♂). Detailed descriptions, digital photographs and a distributional map are provided. Male copulatory organs and habitus of A. dimidiatus (Thorell, 1890) from the same island are shown for the first time. The m...

New faunistic data on spiders of Armenia are presented. 9 genera, Agalenatea Archer, 1951, Larinia Si mon, 1874, Zilla C.L. Koch, 1834 (all three Araneidae), Simit idion Wunderlich, 1992, Pholcomma Thorell, 1869, Phycoso ma O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1880, Phylloneta Archer, 1950 (all four Theridiidae), Cozyptila Lehtinen et Marusik, 2005 and Monaeses T...

Species of wolf spiders considered in the Pardosa atrata group are surveyed, and comparative figures of all species included in the group are presented for the first time. A new species, P. armeniaca sp. nov. , is described from the shore of Lake Sevan (Armenia) based on both sexes. Pardosa narymica Savelyeva, 1972 from East Kazakhstan Oblast’ is s...

Thirteen spider species in six families and a harvestman species are reported from Bolshoi Shantar Island. Twelve of spiders and harvestmen are new to the island. Yet, despite the genera Alopecosa Simon, 1885 and Thanatus C.L. Koch, 1837 and the family Philodromidae having also been collected from the Archipelago, they are represented by juveniles...

Holarctic species offer great opportunities to study biogeography, phylogenetics, taxonomy, and local adaptation. Species that are considered conspecific between the Palearctic and the Nearctic realms are often split into 2 or more species when denser sampling and molecular markers are applied. Similar in complexity but at a finer geographical scal...

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...

Two poorly known species of the zodariid spider genus Zodariellum Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1968 – Z. spasskyi (Charitonov, 1946) and Z. zebra (Charitonov, 1946) – are redescribed based on type specimens from eastern Uzbekistan. Additionally, a lectotype is designated for the former species.

New data are provided on dysderid spiders of Armenia and Iran. Dysdera haykana sp. nov. is described based on male specimens collected in Kotayk and Lor provinces, central and northern Armenia. The female of Dysdera nakhchivanica Beydizade, Shafaie & Guseinov, 2018 is described for the first time, and the species is newly recorded from Armenia. Fur...

A unique type of mate guarding behavior is discovered in the araneid spider Caerostris sumatrana Strand, 1915: the male waits for the female’s maturity while staying tied to the dorsal surface of her abdomen. The species is redescribed in detail. General appearance of the male and its fine structures are illustrated by scanning electron microscopy...

ABSTRACT. Four species described from Siberia and Kyrgyzstan are synonymized: Araneus aralis Bakhvalov, 1981 syn.n. = Aculepeira armida (Audouin, 1826), Haplodrassus hiemalis (Emerton, 1909) syn.n. = Haplodrassus stuxbergi (L. Koch, 1879), Haplodrassus simplex (Kulczyński, 1926) syn.n. = Haplodrassus moderatus (Kulczyński, 1897) and Alopecosa albon...

The dysderid spider genus Dysderella Dunin, 1992 is surveyed. The genus currently comprises two species: D. caspica (Dunin, 1990) from Azerbaijan and North Caucasus and D. transcaspica (Dunin & Fet, 1985) from Turkmenistan and north-eastern Iran. Herein, D. elburzica sp. nov. is described based on male specimens collected in Tehran Province, northe...

Anatextrix monstrabilis sp. nov. (Araneae: Agelenidae) is described and illustrated, based on male and female specimens collected from Adana Province, Türkiye. The new species has an L-shaped male palpal femur bearing multiple apophyses, which is a rare trait in spiders. Anatextrix monstrabilis sp. nov. is the second species of the recently describ...

Türkiye is known to have the highest diversity of the spider family Agelenidae in the Western Palaearctic and the highest diversity of the subfamily Ageleninae globally. The new agelenid genus Anatextrix gen. nov. (Ageleninae, Textricini) and its type species, A. spectabilis sp. nov. (♂♀; Mersin and Adana provinces, southern Türkiye), are described...

The taxonomy of the Iranian species of the dysderid spider genus Dysdera Latreille, 1804 is revised. Currently, the only species of this genus known from Iran is D. pococki Dunin, 1985, albeit on the basis of a doubtful record. The following 14 species are described as new to science in this paper: D. achaemenes sp. nov. (♀; Fars), D. bakhtiari sp....

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...

Plator soastus sp. nov. of the spider family Trochanteriidae Karsch, 1879 is described and illustrated on the basis of female specimens collected in the Swat Valley, representing the first record of the genus in Pakistan and its (north) westernmost record for the whole known range. Material of both sexes of P. pandeae Tikader, 1969 from northern In...

The new zodariid genus Spinozodium gen. nov. is described, comprising two species from Tajikistan: the type species S. denisi (Spassky, 1938) comb. nov. (ex. Zodarion Walckenaer, 1826) and the new species S. khatlonicum sp. nov.; the female of the type species, displaying highly reduced receptacles, is described for the first time. Both species are...

The results of an investigation on a small collection of spiders from Najaf Province in southern Iraq are reported. Four species are described: Hersiliola babylonica sp. n. (♂♀; Hersiliidae), Liocranoeca deserticola sp. n. (♂; Liocranidae), Talanites sumericus sp. n. (♀; Gnaphosidae) and Zelotes jakesi sp. n. (♀; Gnaphosidae). Two families (Liocran...

New taxonomic considerations in the zodariid spider genus Zodariellum Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1968 are proposed. On the basis of male specimens collected in Turkmenistan, Z. turanicum sp. n. and Z. turkmenicum sp. n. are described as new to science. Six species, namely Z. hunanense (Yin, 2012) comb. n., Z. planum (Zhang & Zhang, 2019) comb. n., Z. s...

A new species, Tekellina araucana sp. n., is described from from Chile and Argentina. Detailed morphological data from the spinnerets and male palp of T. araucana sp. n. and Tekellina sadamotoi Yoshida & Ogata, 2016 is provided. A new diagnostic character of Tekellina Levi, 1957, a row of bottle-like modified setae between the anal tubercle and the...

New cases of abnormalities in the development of the copulatory organs in several species of wolf spiders are described: three specimens with side by side duplicated epigynes, one gynandromorph, four intersexes, and one with pathologically asymmetric epigyne. The potential causes of such disorders are discussed.

A new species, Borboropactus semenchenkoi sp. n. is described based on the holotype male from Malaysia (Borneo). The new species is similar to the Asian B. bitubercu¬latus Simon, 1884 and B. cinerascens (Doleschall, 1859) but differs from both by the shape of the male palp. The distribution map of all species of the genus Borboropactus Simon, 1884...

Octavius Pickard-Cambridge described 108 new spider species from material collected by Ferdinand Stoliczka on the Second Yarkand Expedition 18731874. A brief history of the both the first and second expeditions is given, along with a detail account of the material history. Due to the death of Stoliczka in the field whilst on the return leg of the e...

New taxonomic considerations on several species of the zodariid spider subfamily Zodariinae Thorell, 1881 occurring in Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are presented. Three species, Trygetus cyrus sp. n. (♀; Fars, south-central Iran), T. nakhchivanicus sp. n. (♂; Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan) and Zodarion sharurensis sp. n. (♂♀; Nakhchivan, Aze...

New faunistic and taxonomic data are provided for 15 families of Iranian spiders. Two lycosid species, Alopecosa murphyorum sp. n. (♂, Semnan Province) and Alopecosa robertsi sp. n. (♂, Zanjan Province), are described as new to science. Nine species are recorded from Iran for the first time, and 182 new provincial records are provided for 53 specie...

A checklist of all currently described matronymic genera in spiders honouring arachnologists (both valid and invalid nomina) is given, along with discussion on their taxonomic history and about the honourees of each respective genus. We located a total of 30 matronyms named for arachnologists. Three women have three valid generic nomina named for t...

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...

A new genus, Daginesticus gen.n. with the type species, D. dzhamirzoevi sp.n. (♂♀) is described from the Caucasus based on morphological and molecular evidences. Three new combinations are proposed: Daginesticus mamajevae (Marusik, 1987) comb.n., Aituaria borutzkyi (Reimoser, 1930) comb.n. and Aituaria eriashvilii (Marusik, 1987) comb.n. (all ex. C...

Types of three Dictyna species described by Władysław Kulczyński based on females from the territory of the former Russian Empire – D. sibirica sibirica Kulczyński, 1908, from East Siberia, D. sibirica simulans Kulczyński, 1916 from West Siberia and D. ignobilis Kulczyński, 1895 Kulczyński W. 1895. Araneae a Dre G. Horvath in Bessarabia, Chersoneso...

In this paper, 11 families (Agelenidae, Filistatidae, Hahniidae, Liocranidae, Mimetidae, Mysmenidae, Oecobiidae, Pholcidae, Phrurolithidae, Sparassidae and Uloboridae), 18 genera and 18 species of spiders new to Armenia are reported. one genus, Mesiotelus Simon, 1897 (Liocranidae) is new to the entire Caucasus. Illustrations are provided for six sp...

Three new species of spiders are described from different provinces in Iran: Shaitan angramainyu sp. n. (Gnaphosidae) related to Sh. elchini Kovblyuk, Kastrygina et Marusik, 2013 known from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, Piratula raika sp. n. (Lycosidae) related to P. logunovi Omelko, Marusik et Koponen, 2011 known from Eastern Siberia, and Orthobula mi...

Two new species of Liocranidae, Agroeca angirasu sp.n. (♂, Iran) and Mesiotelus caucasicus sp.n. (♂♀, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran) are described and illustrated based on material collected in the Caucasus and Hyrcanian region in northern Iran. The distribution records of both species are mapped.

Minosiella Dalmas, 1921 is a small genus of Gnaphosinae spiders comprising only six species known from western Palaearctic, ranging from Algeria to Afghanistan (Platnick, 2009). Males of this genus can be easily recognized thanks to strong cymbial spines (Figs 1–3, 9–11). Four species of Minosiella are known from both sexes, and two from females on...

New faunistic and taxonomic data are provided for 19 families of Iranian spiders. Stemonyphantes arta Esyunin et Zamani, sp. nov. (Linyphiidae) is described from a male and a female collected in the Zanjan Province. Five genera of the family Theridiidae (Pholcomma, Phoroncidia, Phycosoma, Rhomphaea and Rugathodes) and 21 species are recorded from I...

Hippasa deserticola Simon, 1889, stat. resurr., thought to be a synonym of H. partita (O.Pickard-Cambridge, 1876) is revalidated and redescribed. Two names, Trochosa loeffleri Roewer, 1955, syn. nov., and H. afghana Roewer, 1960, syn. nov., are synonymised with H. deserticola; H. cinerea Simon, 1898, syn. nov., is synonymised with H. partita. The d...

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...

One new genus (Sestakovaia gen. nov.; Liocranidae) and 10 new species of five families of spiders are described from different provinces of Iran: Brigittea avicenna sp. nov. (♂♀, Alborz and Kurdistan provinces) (Dictynidae), Micaria atropatene sp. nov. (♂, East Azerbaijan Province), Zagrotes borna sp. nov. (♂, Hormozgan Province), Z. parla sp. nov....

Colour polymorphism offers rich opportunities for studying the eco-evolutionary mechanisms that drive the adaptations of local populations to heterogeneous and changing environments. We explored the colour morph diversity and composition in a Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle across its entire distribution range to test the hypothesis that environme...

A new species, Dysdera mikhailovi sp. nov. (♀), is described from Tajikistan (nr. Dushanbe). A poorly known species Dysdera subcylindrica Charitonov, 1956 from Central Asia is redescribed based on newly collected material. Dysdera dushengi Lin, Chang et Li, 2020, known from western Xinjiang (China) is reported from Kazakhstan for the first time. (R...

Glebych minutissimus gen. et sp. n., (♂♀), a minute six-eyed and apparently lungless theridiid spider, inhabiting epiphytes in foggy-forest belt at Peruvian Andes is described, representing the smallest (total length varies from 0.79 to 0.92 mm, carapace length ca. 0.36 mm) member of the family. Glebych gen. n. is related to the Neotropic genus Sty...

The monotypic genus Bucliona Benoit, 1977 (type Clubiona dubia O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870 from Saint Helena Island), previously considered a junior synonym of Clubiona Latreille, 1804, is resurrected. Three species are assigned to the genus Bucliona: B. dubia comb. reval., B. kirilli sp. n. (♂, Kenya), and B. jucunda Karsch, 1879) comb. n., ex Club...

Two new species of theridiid spiders are described from northern Iran: Episinus mikhailovi sp. n. (♂♀, Gilan and Mazandaran provinces) and Theridion arsia sp. n. (♀, Qazvin Province); the latter has a unique type of thread-like mating plug previously undocumented in the family. Furthermore, Enoplognatha submargarita Yaginuma & Zhu, 1992, stat. reva...

One new genus, Zagrotes gen. nov., and 19 new species of ground spiders (Gnaphosidae) are described from Iran: Berinda bifurcata sp. nov. (♂, Bushehr, Khuzestan; southwestern and southern Iran), Berinda hoerwegi sp. nov. (♂♀, Fars, Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan; western and southcentral Iran), Berlandina artaxerxes sp. nov. (♂ Yazd; central Iran), Cr...

Based on molecular analysis (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA and histone H3) and morphological characters, it was found that Ero juhuaensis Xu, Wang Wang, 1987 is misplaced and belongs to Mimetus Hentz, 1832. A new combination is suggested, Mimetus juhuaensis (Xu et al., 1987) new combination. The male of M. juhuaensis is described for the first time....

Three new species namely Drassodex tajikistanicus sp. n. (♂), Zelotes anatolyi sp. n. (♂) and Zelotes khatlonicus sp. n. (♂♀) are described from Khatlon Region of Tajikistan. A new combination is proposed as Poecilochroa hamipalpis (Kroneberg, 1875) comb. n. (ex. Echemus), accompanied with a redescription of the species. Nomisia palaestina (O. Pick...

Species of the spider family Zodariidae occurring in Iran and Turkmenistan are reviewed. Seventeen species of three subfamilies are described as new to science: Lachesana kavirensis sp. nov. (♂, Qom; northern Iran), L. perseus sp. nov. (♂, Alborz; northern Iran) (Lachesaninae), Pax ellipita sp. nov. (♂♀, Kermanshah and Lorestan; western Iran), P. l...

A new genus, Sinophaena Lin & Li, gen. nov., of the spider family Anyphaenidae Bertkau, 1878 is reported, with S. xiweni Lin & Li, sp. nov. (♀) from Sichuan, China as the type species. Sinophaena bivalva (Zhang & Song, 2004) comb. nov. is transferred from Anyphaena Sundevall, 1833. Further new species reported in the current paper include: Anyphaen...

The taxonomic status of the medically important spider genus Loxosceles Heineken et Lowe, 1832 (Sicariidae) in Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan is revised. Two species are described as new to science: Loxosceles coheni sp. n. (♂♀, southwestern Iran) and Loxosceles turanensis sp. n. (♂♀, southern Turkmenistan and eastern Iran). Additionally, Loxo...

Orchestina zhiwui Liu, Xu & Henrard, 2019, a species previously known only from males collected in Jiangxi Province, was found in Liaoning, ca 2200 km northeast of the type locality, including specimens of both sexes. The previously unknown female of this species is described, and the male is redescribed. A key to species of the genus Orchestina fr...