Zaitunia afghana (Roewer, 1962) Roewer, 1962

Zonstein, Sergei L., Marusik, Yuri M. & Koponen, Seppo, 2013, Redescription of three species of Filistatidae (Araneae) described by C. F. Roewer from Afghanistan, Zootaxa 3745 (1) : -

Zaitunia afghana (Roewer, 1962) comb. n.

Figs 13 , 21–27

Filistata afghana Roewer 1962: 12 , f. 6, 9 (♀).

Types. 1♀ and 1 juv. (paratypes) placed in the same vial—probably with the same data; surroundings of Pol-e Khumri city (35º57'N 68º42'E, 700 m), 9.11.1957, K. Lindberg (SMF).

Diagnosis. The species differs from congeners by the following characters: from Z. schmitzi —by pale-colored body and legs, and better developed eye tubercle (cf. Zonstein 2009: figs 3–5); from Z. maracandica (Charitonov, 1946) and Z. martynovae (Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1969) —by absence of darker dorsal abdominal pattern and the different-shaped ocular region (cf. Charitonov 1946: fig. 3; Andreeva 1976: figs 13–14); from Z. monticola (Spassky, 1941) —by having less slender and much shorter anterior legs (cf. Spassky 1941); from the similarly colored Z. beshkentica (Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1969) —by the shape and position of the spinnerets group (cf. Andreeva 1976: fig. 11); from Z. alexandri Brignoli, 1982 , Z. medica Brignoli, 1982 , Z. persica Brignoli, 1982 , Z. inderensis Ponomarev, 2005 and Z. zonsteini Fomichev & Marusik, 2013 with described and figured female copulative organs—by the different configuration of the receptacles (cf. Brignoli 1982: figs 14–16; Fomichev & Marusik 2013: figs 12–15).

Description. Female (paratype): Total length 5.35. Color in alcohol: whole body and legs light brownishyellow, abdomen without dorsal pattern, tarsi of palp and legs I–IV darkened, eye tubercle blackish-brown. Carapace ( Figs 21, 22, 24 ): 2.13 long, 1.77 wide. Eye diameters: AME 0.09, ALE 0.23, PLE 0.20, PME 0.20. Interdistance AME–AME: 0.11. Measurements of legs and palp as shown in Tab. 2 . Calamistrum placed on small ridge, strongly bent setae arranged in one row ( Fig. 25 ).

Genital area of endogyna as in Figs 13 , 26–27 ; 2 genital plates covered with fine wrinkles ( Figs 13 , 26 ), hairs near epigastric fold long, equal in length to the distance between the lateral margins of the main receptacles; two pairs of receptacles, all receptacles round and separated from each other by the diameter of the accessorial (lateral) receptacles.

Male: unknown.

Note. A short steeply inclined clypeus, the loss of the thoracic fovea and the presence of short spatulate setae on tarsi I–IV are characteristic for Zaitunia and indicate that the given species belongs in this genus and not to Filistata , as previously assigned.

Distribution. Сentral and northern parts of Afghanistan. We are not sure if all records of immature conspecific filistatids listed by Roewer (1962) refer to this species.

Figures

FIGURES 11 – 15. Female copulatory organs of Pholcoides afghana (11 – 12), Zaitunia afghana (13) and Tricalamus lindbergi (14 - 15). 11, 13 ventral; 12, 14 – 15 dorsal. Abbreviations: Ar accessorial receptacle; Mr main receptacle.

FIGURES 21 – 27. Somatic characters and female copulatory organ of paratype of Zaitunia afghana. 21 – 22, 24 body, dorsal, ventral and lateral, respectively; 23 prosoma, dorsal; 25 metatarsus IV showing calamistrum; 26 – 27 copulatory organ, 26 ventral and 27 dorso-anterior.

Tables

TABLE 2. Leg measurements.

	Femur	Patella	Tibia	Metatarsus	Tarsus	Total
Palp	1.07	0.65	0.87		0.97	3.56
I	2.33	0.87	2.23	1.97	1.30	7.90
II	1.97	0.83	1.65	1.63	1.05	6.40
III	1.75	0.75	1.33	1.38	0.97	6.18
IV	2.37	0.80	1.85	1.83	1.03	7.88