Alireza Zamani

New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae)

We present the results of some spider surveys that were conducted in different parts of Iran. Faunistic records for 30 species which are new to Iran are presented here. Biogeographic data are provided for each species. Two families, namely Liocranidae and Mimetidae, are recorded for the first time from the country.

The spider family Filistatidae (Araneae) in Iran.

Abstract All species of Filistatidae occurring in Iran are surveyed. Zaitunia akhanii sp. n. is described on the basis of female specimens collected in Tehran province, and the previously unknown male of Sahastata sinuspersica Marusik, Zamani & Mirshamsi, 2014 is described for the first time. Also, the endogynes of the holotypes of Zaitunia alexandri Brignoli, 1982, Zaitunia medica Brignoli, 1982 and Zaitunia persica Brignoli, 1982 are illustrated. Including these results, the number of Iranian species of Filistatidae is increased to seven, which indicates the highest species-richness of this family in the Western Palaearctic.

Three new species of mygalomorph and filistatid spiders from Iran (Araneae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Nemesiidae and Filistatidae).

Abstract Three new spider species are described from Iran: Anemesia koponeni sp. n. (♂, Cyrtaucheniidae); Raveniola mazandaranica sp. n. (♂, Nemesiidae) and Sahastata sinuspersica sp. n. (♀, Filistatidae). Cyrtaucheniidae and Sahastata Benoit, 1968 are reported from Iran for the fisrt time.

A new species ofParatheuma(Araneae: Dictynidae) from Southwestern Asia and transfer of the genus

The marine spider genus Paratheuma Bryant, 1940 is recorded in southwestern Asia for the first time, and a new species, P. enigmatica sp. n. is described from southern and southeastern Iran on the basis of both sexes. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, the genus is transferred from Desidae to Litisedinae, Dictynidae. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BC5B70CB-E6C9-4624-8BE8-22FF14AF6DC7

New data on spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), Part II

In this paper, which is the second devoted to spiders of Iran, faunistic records of one family, 12 genera and 30 species that are new to the fauna of Iran are presented. The recorded species are as follows: Aculepeira talishia (Zawadsky, 1902); Araneus circe (Audouin, 1826); Hypsosinga heri (Hahn, 1831); Leviellus caspicus (Simon, 1889); Dysderella transcaspica (Dunin & Fet, 1985); Berlandina plumalis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872); Fedotovia uzbekistanica Charitonov, 1946; Haplodrassus signifier (C. L. Koch, 1839); Micaria lenzi Bosenberg, 1899; Agroeca cuprea Menge, 1873; Evippa apsheronica Marusik, Guseinov & Koponen, 2003; Mysmenella jobi (Kraus, 1967); Oecobius nadiae (Spassky, 1936); Uroctea grossa Roewer, 1960; Oxyopes globifer Simon, 1876; Peucetia arabica Simon, 1882; Thanatus kitabensis Charitonov, 1946; Thanatus pictus L. Koch, 1881; Phrurolithus festivus (C. L. Koch, 1835); Zimiris doriai Simon, 1882; Tetragnatha pinicola C. L. Koch, 1870; Anelosimus pulchellus (Walckenaer, 1802); Dipoena melano...

A new species and new distribution records of Zaitunia from Iran (Araneae: Filistatidae)

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:856ED4E9-2DDE-4389-8020-CFA39C136A54

A survey of Hersiliidae (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iran with description of one new genus and two new species

ABSTRACT Currently, five species of three genera of Hersiliidae are known from Iran. Bastanius gen. nov., with the type species B. kermanensis sp. nov. (♂♀), and Hersilia talebii sp. nov. (♀) are described from south and south-eastern Iran. In addition, Hersiliola macullulata (Dufour, 1831) is recorded for the first time from Iran, and Hersiliola foordi Marusik & Fet, 2009 is transferred to Bastanius gen. nov. Detailed morphological descriptions and a distribution map of all hersiliid species occurring in Iran are provided.

First description of the male of Tegenaria zamanii Marusik & Omelko, 2014 (Araneae: Agelenidae) from northern Iran

The spider family Agelenidae is a large-sized, globally-distributed family currently comprising 1174 species in 70 genera (World Spider Catalog 2015). The largest genus of the family, Tegenaria Latreille, 1804, consists of 114 accepted species, primarily distributed in the Palaearctic, but also with some species occurring in the Oriental and Nearctic regions (World Spider Catalog 2015; Kaya et al. 2010). So far, only four species of this genus have been recorded from Iran: T. domestica (Clerck, 1757), T. lenkoranica (Guseinov, Marusik & Koponen, 2005), T. pagana C.L. Koch, 1840 and T. zamanii Marusik & Omelko, 2014 (Zamani et al. 2015). Two of these species, T. lenkoranica and T. zamanii are currently known only from females. Latter species was originally described on the basis of recently collected specimens from a cave in Golestan Province of northern Iran, known as Shirabad (= Div Sepid) (Marusik et al. 2014). In July 2015, as a result of a collecting expedition made by the junior author and his team several specimens were observed and photographed in their natural habitat. A single adult male was collected, which is described and illustrated here for the first time. The specimen was photographed using an Olympus Camedia E-520 camera attached to an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope. Digital images were prepared using “CombineZP” image stacking software. Lengths of the leg measurements were measured on the dorsal side. The description of the palp refers to the left one. All measurements are given in millimetres. Measurements of palp and leg are listed as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). The specimen will be deposited in the Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main (SMF). The junior author wishes to thank his team for their assistance during the zoological expedition made to the cave and surrounding forests in northern Iran. James W. Berry kindly checked the English of an earlier draft of the manuscript.

Filling the gap of whip spider distribution in Asia: Phrynichus persicus sp.n. (Arachnida, Amblypygi), a new Phrynichidae from Iran

The whip spider genus Phrynichus (Phrynichidae, Amblypygi) is widely distributed in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Asia with a total of 17 species. No records, however, are known from several countries in the Middle East. Here we provide the first record of a whip spider from Iran (Ilam Province), with the description and illustration of a new species, Phrynichus persicus sp. n. This discovery fills a gap in the distribution of the group that is known from both sides of this biogeographically interesting region and is also the northernmost record of the family Phrynichidae. Moreover, all distribution records of the Phrynichus species are mapped (including the first verified record of the order from the United Arab Emirates), an updated key to the species of the deflersi and ceylonicus groups is provided, and Phrynichus andhraensis Bastawade, Rao, Maqsood Javed and Krishna, 2005 (India) is assigned to the ceylonicus group.

The spider genus Pterotricha in Iran, with the description of a new genus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae)

Abstract The spider genus Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903 (Gnaphosidae) is surveyed in Iran. To date, three species of this genus were known in the country: P.loeffleri (Roewer, 1955), P.lentiginosa (C. L. Koch, 1837) and P.pseudoparasyriaca Nuruyeva & Huseynov, 2016. Here two new species are described, P.kovblyuki Zamani & Marusik, sp. n. (♂, western Iran) and P.montana Zamani & Marusik, sp. n. (♀, central and southwestern Iran), and P.cf.dalmasi Fage, 1929 (from Algeria to Jordan) is reported in Iran for the first time. Pterotrichatikaderi Gajbe, 1983 syn. n. (India) and P.loeffleri (Roewer, 1955), syn. n. are synonymized with P.strandi Spassky, 1936 (hitherto known from Turkmenistan only). The record of P.lentiginosa from Iran is apparently based on misidentification. A distribution map of the genus in Iran with new provincial records is provided. In addition, Iranotricha Zamani & Marusik, gen. n., a new genus closely related to Pterotricha, is described from southeastern Iran with the type species I.lutensis Zamani & Marusik, sp. n.