Phyxelida anatolica Griswold, 1990

Zonstein, Sergei, Marusik, Yuri & Omelko, Mikhail, 2015, A survey of spider taxa new to Israel (Arachnida: Araneae), Zoology in the Middle East 61 (4), pp. 372-385 : 379-380

Phyxelida anatolica Griswold, 1990 ( Figure 4 )

Phyxelida anatolica Griswold, 1990: 167, f. 90c‒d (♀); Thaler & Knoflach, 1998: 36, f. 1‒16, 18‒23 (♂♀).

Material. ISRAEL: Mt. Meron area, Ziv’on. 773 m, 33°02’N 35°25’E, 16.iv.2005 (A. Timm & T. Assmann) ‒ 1♂ ( TAU) ; Carmel Ridge, Shuni Park 1 km N Binyamina , 32°32’N 34°57’E, 60 m, 27.xii.2010 (YM) ‒ 1♀ ( ZMMU) .

Comment. Phyxelida anatolica is the only species of the entire family known from the Palaearctic. Although it is somatically rather similar to Mesiotelus Simon, 1897 (Liocranidae) and some other genera of other families, it can be easily recognised by having a cribellum, a calamistrum and light colouration. It differs from the cribellate family Titanoecidae by its light colouration (Israeli Titanoecidae are black). It differs from the cribellate Dictynidae by its larger size (over 4 mm). This species differs from other cribellate spiders occurring in Israel, such as Zoropsis , Uloboridae and Oecobius , by habitus. Here, we only provide a figure of the female because the males are easily distinguished from other cribellates by the palp. Until recently, P. anatolica was known from two localities, Cyprus and Antakya, in Southern Turkey (type locality). This species is a new record for Israel. The record from Ziv’on is the easternmost in the entire range, and the record from Shuni Park is the southernmost locality of the species.

Figures

Figure 4. Female of Phyxelida anatolica. – a. habitus, lateral; b. abdomen, ventral. Scale = 0.2 mm if not otherwise indicated.