Hersiliola afghanica Roewer 1960
Creators: name: Marusik, Yuri
name: Fet, Victor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Hersiliidae
Hersiliola
Hersiliola afghanica

description: <i>Hersiliola afghanica</i> Roewer, 1960 Figs 1.4, 7.3-4, 8.1 <i>H. a.</i> Roewer, 1960: 48, f. 16a-d (D &amp;female;). <b>Type material (examined).</b> Holotype &amp;female;, with label “ <i>Hersiliola afghanica</i> n.sp. 1&amp;female; Typus, 1(♁ inad.) A409” (GNM); inadult male is absent from the vial. According to the original publication (Roewer 1960), the holotype was collected in “ AFGHANISTAN, Kabul, Mont Sher Dervazeh, under stones (K. Lindberg coll.)”. <b>Note.</b> Roewer (1960) also listed 19 additional specimens (“ paratypes ”) across a wide range in Afghanistan (Mazari-Sharif, Kabul, Jalalabad, etc.), but all of them were indicated as juveniles. However, in the SMF we found a single adult female, clearly designated as a paratype (allegedly of <i>H. afghanica</i>), with the following label: “ 1&amp;female; Paratype, SMF 12996, No. 15, Afghanistan ”. Holotype (GNM) and paratype (SMF) labels are written by the same hand, presumably by Roewer. Study of this SMF female demonstrated that it belongs to another species, which is described below as <i>H. lindbergi</i> sp. n. <b>Diagnosis.</b> <i>Hersiliola afghanica</i> is most similar to <i>H. sternbergsi</i> sp. n., from which it can be distinguished by larger spermathecae, shape of the upper loop, and insemination duct terminating on dorsal wall of the spermatheca. <b>Description.</b> Male unknown. Female: Total length 5.5. Carapace 2.0 long, 2.15 wide, femur I 3.25 long, femur I/carapace length ratio 1.63. General colouration light brown. Carapace in poor condition, pattern is not visible. Abdomen with well developed pattern composed by a heart spot with dark margins; posterior part of abdomen with three transverse stripes. Legs with distinct annulations, light and dark rings equal in width. Coxae IV separated by less than one diameter. Chelicerae and maxillae with strong erect hairs. Epigyne as in Figs 7.3-4, 8.1. Septum as wide as lateral arms of median plate; windows distinct. Insemination duct relatively short; upper loop of coil located over the spermatheca; accessory gland digitiform. <b>Distribution.</b> Afghanistan (Kabul Province). <b>Comments.</b> Although this species was reported from a number of localities in Afghanistan, all records except for the holotype &amp;female; from Kabul are based on juveniles that could be misidentified since other hersiliids (<i>H. lindbergi</i> sp. n. or <i>Ovtsharenkoia pallida</i>) could occur in this area. Any of these species could also have been reported by Denis (1958) from Pirzada (Afghanistan) as <i>H. simoni</i>. All records of <i>H. afghanica</i> from Turkmenistan are misidentifications and refer either to <i>Duninia baehrae</i> gen. n. sp. n. or to <i>Deltshevia danovi</i> gen. n. sp. n.
description: Published as part of <i>Marusik, Yuri &amp; Fet, Victor, 2009, A survey of East Palaearctic Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae), with a description of three new genera, pp. 75-114 in ZooKeys 16 (16)</i> on pages 84-85, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.16.229, http://zenodo.org/record/576478
description: {"references": ["Roewer CF (1960) Araneae Orthognathae, Haplogynae und Entelegynae. Solifugen und Opilioniden. (Contribution a l'etude de la faune d'Afghanistan 23). Goteborgs Kunglige Vetenskaps och Vitterhets Samhalles Handlingar, B 8 (7): 3 - 53.", "Denis J (1958) Araignees (Araneidea) de l'Afghanistan. I. Videnskabelige meddelelser fra Dansk naturhistorisk forening i KObenhaven 120: 81 - 120."]}