Zelotes laetus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)

Zamani, Alireza, Enayatnia, Masoumeh, Mirshekar, Ali, Mayvan, Mahmood Mehrafrooz, Kováč, Ľubomír & Marusik, Yuri M., 2025, New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), Part XII, Zootaxa 5601 (1), pp. 1-45 : 24

Zelotes laetus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)

Figs 13A‒B , 14A‒B , 15E‒H , 16A‒C

Zelotes laetus : Levy 1998: 122, figs 58‒61 (♂ ♀).

For a list of 22 taxonomic references, see WSC (2025).

Material. IRAN: Sistan & Baluchistan Prov.: 2♂ 1♀ ( ZMUT), Zabol, 31°02'12"N 61°32'14"E, 480 m, 30.04.2022, 7.05.2022 (M. Enayatnia) .

Comment. Based on the structure of the male palp, this species belongs to the puritanus group. It was overlooked by Fomichev & Marusik (2021) as a member of this group and was not included in their listing. Although the species has been described in several publications, details of the male palpal structures have never been illustrated. Therefore, we provide detailed photographs here.

Records in Iran. Hormozgan. New record for Sistan & Baluchistan (the easternmost record).

Distribution. Mediterranean to Iran. Introduced to Hawaii, USA, Mexico, Peru, Ascension Is.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Habitus of Zelotes laetus (A, B) and Zelotes scrutatus (C, D), dorsal view. A, D—males; B, C—females.

FIGURE 14. Male palps of Zelotes laetus (A, B) and Zelotes scrutatus (C, D). A, C—ventral view; B, D—retrolateral view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 15. Bulbs of Zelotes scrutatus (A‒D) and Zelotes laetus (E‒H). A, E—retrolateral view; B, F—retrodorsal view; C, G—ventral view; D, H—apical view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 16. Epigynes of Zelotes laetus (A‒C) and Zelotes scrutatus (D‒F). A, D—intact, ventral view; B, E—macerated, ventral view; C, F—endogyne, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.