Refine
Document Type
- Article (4)
- Part of Periodical (2)
Language
- English (6)
Has Fulltext
- yes (6)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (6)
Keywords
- taxonomy (2)
- Biodiversity (1)
- DNA barcoding (1)
- Evippa (1)
- Evippomma (1)
- Israel (1)
- Key (1)
- Levant (1)
- Mediterranean (1)
- Middle East (1)
- Palearctic (1)
- Palestine (1)
- Pholcidae (1)
- caves (1)
- integrative taxonomy (1)
- key (1)
- molecular phylogeny (1)
- troglophilev (1)
- vicariance (1)
- whip spider (1)
- wolf-spiders (1)
- xeric habitat (1)
Daddy-long-leg giants: revision of the spider genus Artema Walckenaer, 1837 (Araneae, Pholcidae)
(2017)
This is the first revision of Artema Walckenaer, 1837, a genus consisting of large and phylogenetically interesting species. Even though Artema is not species-rich (now eight nominal species), it has suffered from poor descriptions and synonymies. Our main goal was to gather all available material and to clarify species limits. Four species are easily distinguished from other congeners: Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837, the type species; A. kochi Kulczyński, 1901 (revalidated); A. bunkpurugu Huber & Kwapong, 2013; and A. nephilit sp. nov. All other species are problematic for varying reasons: species limits are unclear between A. doriae Thorell, 1881 and A. transcaspica Spassky, 1934; A. magna Roewer, 1960 and A. ziaretana (Roewer, 1960) are problematic because they are based on female and juvenile types respectively and little new material is available. The material available to us suggests the existence of a few further species; however, they are not formally described, either because of small sample sizes (Artema sp. a and A. sp. b are represented by only one specimen each) or because of unclear species limits (between Artema sp. c, A. transcaspica and A. doriae).This study is the first serious step towards understanding the genus. Intensive collecting effort is needed in order to fully clarify species limits.
Evippinae (Araneae, Lycosidae) is a subfamily of old-world lycosids, comprising six genera and 67 species, most of them typically found in xeric habitats. Although Israel is located between the two distribution-centers of the subfamily, Africa and central Asia, only two species of the genus Evippa Simon, 1882, namely E. arenaria (Audouin, 1826) and E. praelongipes (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871), and a doubtful record of Xerolycosa nemoralis (Westring, 1861) were reported previously. Here we describe a new species: Evippa amitaii sp. nov., and re-describe and report a new record for Israel of E. onager (Simon, 1895 sensu Šternbergs 1979). Additionally, the genus Evippomma Roewer, 1959 is recorded for the first time from the Middle East, with a description of the previously unknown female of Evippomma simoni Alderweireldt, 1992. We discuss the possible vicariance of Evippa arenaria and E. praelongipes. We suggest that the dispersal of E. arenaria along the coastal plain is blocked by the Yarqon river valley. We suggest competition with a similar species (Pardosa subsordidatula (Strand, 1915)) as a factor affecting the seasonal activity of E. arenaria. Additionally, we present a partial molecular phylogeny of Evippinae, to clarify the placement of E. onager, a species with an unusual morphology.
Lycosa Latreille, 1804 (Araneae, Lycosidae) of Israel, with a note on Geolycosa Montgomery, 1904
(2022)
Lycosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) is a wolf spider genus typical of subtropical latitudes in the western Palearctic. Despite being erected over 200 years ago, the taxonomy of Lycosa is still unclear. Many species formerly ascribed to it are currently being moved to other genera, while new species are still being described. The species of Lycosa of the western Mediterranean basin are relatively well known, yet the Levantine region, the easternmost part of the Mediterranean basin, has not received much attention since the early 20th century. Here, we study Lycosa from the southern Levant using morphological, molecular and behavioral characteristics, to delimit the species found in this region. We describe two new species: L. hyraculus sp. nov. and L. gesserit sp. nov. We re-describe the widespread and polymorphic species, Lycosa piochardi Simon, 1876. Lycosa piochardi infraclara Strand, 1913 is synonymized with Lycosa piochardi. By adding novel data to the molecular phylogeny of Lycosa created by Planas et al. (2013) and re-analyzing it, we explore the relationship of the Levantine species to other Mediterranean species of Lycosa. We discuss habitat preferences of the two species of Lycosa. Additionally, we report the burrowing species Geolycosa vultuosa (C.L. Koch, 1838) as a new record to Israel, thus extending the distribution of this species and genus into the Levant.
We describe a new troglophilic species of Filistata, F. betarif sp. nov. , collected from two caves in central Israel, by using light and electron microscopy and by DNA barcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Sequences of this gene show more than 15% of divergence between the new species and its sibling, F. insidiatrix (Forsskål, 1775), which is widely distributed across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Notwithstanding, the two species are diagnosed only by a minor morphological detail in the embolic keel of the male pedipalp; females of both species are not diagnosable based only on morphology. We also find that samples of F. insidiatrix from different localities have large genetic divergence values (larger than 15% in some cases), but their pedipalps are identical in males; this suggests that F. insidiatrix might hide an additional cryptic diversity. We take this opportunity to provide a dichotomous key for identifying the crevice-weavers (Filistatidae) of Israel and Palestine.
A new species of Charinus is described from Israel and new localities for C. ioanniticus are reported. Charinus israelensis sp. nov. is a cave dwelling species with extremely small median eyes, no median tubercle and reduced lateral eyes. It is similar to C. ioanniticus, which occurs in nearby areas, but can be differentiated by the shape of the carapace, the number of pedipalp spines and the development of the eyes. A detailed comparison is made between the two species, including pictures, drawings and scanning electron micrographs. Charinus ioanniticus is reported here from several new localities in Israel and Turkey. Identification keys to the Charinus species groups and to the species of the bengalensis group are provided.