Spinozodium denisi Zamani & Marusik 2022, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Zamani, Alireza
name: Marusik, Yuri M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Zodariidae
Spinozodium
Spinozodium denisi

description: Spinozodium denisi (Spassky, 1938), comb. nov.
(Figures 1a–b, 2a–c, 3d–g, 4a–b, 5a–b)
Zodarion denisi Spassky, 1938: 580, figure 5 (♂).
Zodarium [sic!] denisi: Spassky 1952: 193. – Andreeva and Tystshenko 1968: 688, figure 6 (♂).
Zodarion denisi: Andreeva 1976: 37, figure 44 (♂). – Marusik and Koponen 2001: 46, figures 28– 31 (♂).
Material examined
TAJIKISTAN: Dushanbe: 2♂ (MMUE), env. of Dushanbe, Hissar Mt. ridge, 20 km of Varzob Hway, Gusgarf Vil., exposed northern slopes with Acer litter and cliffs, 8 May 2015 (Yu. M. Marusik); 4♂ 4♀ (ZMMU), env. of Dushanbe, Hissar Mt. ridge, 48 km of Varzob Hway, Gusgarf Vill., 38.555, 68.482, 1530 m, exposed southern slopes with Juglans litter and under stones, 7 May 2015 (Yu. M. Marusik, M. Saidov); 3♂ 1♀ (MMUE), env. of Dushanbe, Varzob valley, surroundings of Varzob Lake, 38.399, 68.482, 1043 m, pine litter, 3 May 2015 (Yu. M. Marusik); 1♂ (SMNH), Hissar Mt. Range, Ramit Res., Darai Holmon (Kholmon) creek gorge, 38.756, 69.304, 1370 m, 2 May 2015 (S.L. Zonstein); Khatlon Region: 2♂ (ZMMU), env. of Khovaling, Obimazar River, 38.3490, 69.9699, 1413 m, gravelly river shores with some bushes, 27 April 2015 (Yu. M. Marusik); 7♂ 1♀ (ZMMU), Khovaling Dist., opposite to Alakosim Kishlak, 38.359333, 70.064200, 1840 m, 28 April 2015 (Yu. M. Marusik).
Diagnosis
The male of this species differs from that of its congener by (1) the tip of RTA bent at a different angle (see Figure 4 (a,c)), (2) straight, spine-like and longer process of tegular apophysis (Tp) located prolaterally (vs claw-like, shorter and located anteriorly), and (3) having teeth (Tt) on the anterior edge of the tegular apophysis (vs no teeth). The female of S. denisi differs from that of its congener by (1) the shorter anterior hood and subparallel margins of fovea (vs wider hood and posteriorly converging lateral margins of fovea; see Figure 5 (a–d)), (2) relatively shorter base of septum and (3) smaller head of receptacle (see Figure 5 (a–d)).
Description
Male. Habitus as in Figure 1 (b). Total length 2.60. Carapace 1.42 long, 0.99 wide. Eye sizes: AME: 0.10, ALE: 0.08, PME: 0.07, PLE: 0.07. Carapace, sternum, chelicerae, labium and maxillae yellowish. Carapace with irregular darker markings. Legs yellowish, without annulations. Abdomen dorsally dark greyish with pale beige median stripe, ventrally pale beige. Spinnerets uniformly pale beige. Measurements of legs: I: 3.97 (1.05, 0.42, 0.84, 0.97, 0.70), II: 3.73 (1.02, 0.45, 0.74, 0.92, 0.60), III: 3.74 (1.00, 0.45, 0.73, 0.96, 0.60), IV: 5.03 (1.28, 0.47, 1.16, 1.44, 0.68).
Palp as in Figures 2 (a–c), 3(d–g) and 4(a); terminal half of RTA bent ventrally; cymbium with shallow fold (Cf) opposing RTA; bulb oval, tegular apophysis (Ta) with straight, spinelike process (Tp), anterior edge of tegular apophysis with fine teeth (Tt).
Female. Habitus as in Figure 1 (a). Total length 3.60. Carapace 1.50 long, 1.05 wide. Eye sizes: AME: 0.10, ALE: 0.09, PME: 0.08, PLE: 0.08. Colouration as in male. Measurements of legs: I: 4.24 (1.10, 0.47, 0.88, 1.06, 0.73), II: 3.78 (1.00, 0.46, 0.77, 0.95, 0.60), III: 4.05 (1.07, 0.49, 0.76, 1.13, 0.60), IV: 5.51 (1.38, 0.50, 1.27, 1.62, 0.74).
Epigyne as in Figures 4 (b) and 5(a,b); anterior hood short and arched; margins of fovea subparallel (Figure 5 (a,b)); septal stem (Ss) about 2 times shorter than septal base (Sb); receptacles separated by about 7 diameters and each bearing a small head (Rh).
Distribution
Known only from Dushanbe and Khatlon regions, western to south-central Tajikistan (Figure 6). Ovtsharenko and Fet (1980) and Krivokhatsky and Fet (1981) reported this species from Turkmenistan, although these records were later attributed to Parazodarion raddei (Simon, 1889) (sub Zodarion) by Mikhailov and Fet (1994).
Comments
The female of this species is described here for the first time.
description: Published as part of Zamani, Alireza & Marusik, Yuri M., 2022, A new genus of Zodariidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Tajikistan, pp. 1187-1198 in Journal of Natural History 56 (25 - 28) on pages 1190-1196, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2115422, http://zenodo.org/record/7087046