Spariolenus mansourii Moradmand, 2017

Moradmand, Majid, Wesal, Mohammad Wasil & Kulkarni, Siddharth, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the troglophile Spariolenus spiders (Araneae: Sparassidae) in South and West Asia, Zootaxa 5380 (1), pp. 77-95 : 89-91

Spariolenus mansourii Moradmand, 2017

Figs 11D

Spariolenus mansourii Moradmand, 2017: 17 , figs 4A–F, 5A–C.

Spariolenus zagros Moradmand & Jäger, 2011 . Malek Hosseini et al. 2015: 92 (misidentification).

Material examined. Iran: Isfahan Province: 1♀ and 1♂, Fereydun-Shahr, Setableh Prohibited Hunting Area, Gurab , 2397 m., 5 July 2019, 33.02 N, 49.88 E, Moradmand & Jäger leg. ( ZMUI 3927 ) . Fars Province: 1♂, Sepidan, close to Margoon waterfall, September 2017, Moradmand & Fathinia leg. ( ZMUI 3937 ) .

Remarks. After continuous explorations for Spariolenus in Iran (2015 till present), it seems that Spariolenus mansourii is the most widespread species compared to the other eight endemic Iranian species ( Moradmand 2017, Moradmand pers. obs.). This species is now recorded from locations in Isfahan and Fars Provinces in Iran for the first time ( Fig. 13 ). The previous reports of Spariolenus from Dalkhoon cave ( Malek Hosseini et al. 2015), misidentified as S. zagros , most likely belongs to S. mansourii . Field observation revealed that Spariolenus species prey on ecologically important insects such as cockroaches (see Moradmand & Jäger 2011: p. 58, fig. 41) and here in the case of S. mansourii on cicadas ( Fig. 11D ).

Figures

FIGURES 11A–E. A–C Spariolenus omidvarbrothers sp. n. (A habitus of male, B female, C type locality and habitat, Bidan Oasis close to Barashk in Sistan & Baluchistan Province, Iran); D Spariolenus mansourii Moradmand, 2017 preying on a cicada; E habitat of Spariolenus lindbergi (Roewer, 1962) comb. nov. in Afghanistan. Arrows shows the observation location of the specimens.

FIGURE 13. The distribution records map of all known Spariolenus species (studied here and revised to date) in South and West Asia. Localities for all new species described in this study are marked with a star.