Zoropsis thaleri n. sp.

Figs. 10–15

Holotype. adult male from Odem Reserve (754998/677281; 950 m.), Golan Heights, Israel, leg. Rakefet Sharon, November 1996 (HUJ 15401), pitfall trap; female paratype with same data.

Zoropsis libanica Simon, 1884: 190 . Thaler, Harten & Knoflach, 2006: 251, figs. 7, 9, 10. Nomen nudum.

Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honour of the late Austrian arachnologist Prof. Konrad Thaler. A generous colleague and prolific investigator with whom, for decades, I exchanged views and approaches to problematic taxonomic and nomenclatural issues.

Description. Robust, drab coloured, with light brown legs and faint chevron-like markings on opisthosoma. Chelicerae with 3 pro- and 2–3 retromarginal teeth.

Male. Measurements (holotype + 1 ɗ; holotype listed first): total length 9.6, 8.5; carapace length 4.8, 4.3, width 3.5, 3.3, index 1.37, 1.30; clypeal index 1.0, 0.6; leg lengths: I 19.8, 16.9, II 17.5, 14.9, III 14.3, 12.4, IV 18.5, 16.9; patella-tibia index 1.56, 1.47.

Palpus. Cymbium with dorsal, dense mat of bristles, and retrolateral marginal projection rising above fine, striated concavity (Figs. 10–12). Bent, strongly sclerotised, cylindrical embolus rests on fine lamella. Membranous tegular process well developed (Figs. 11, 12). Tibia with strong blackish retrolateral apophysis.

Female. Measurements (5 ΨΨ): total length 10.9–13.0; carapace length 4.9–5.5, width 3.6–3.9, index 1.34–1.41; clypeal index 0.68–0.89; leg lengths: I 13.6–14.4, II 11.9–12.8, III 10.1–11.0, IV 14.2–15.2; patella-tibia index 1.07–1.16.

Epigynum . Small scape connected anteriorly by narrow stalk. Thick, swollen lateral lobes touching at posterior ends and partly encircle light sunken scape (Figs. 13, 14); scape tightly enclosed in heavily sclerotised epigyne (Fig. 14). Spermathecae extend into cylindrical, blackish tubes (Fig. 15); in heavily pigmented epigynes additional sclerotizations may distort the general picture.

Diagnosis. Zoropsis thaleri n. sp. differs distinctly from all other Zoropsis species by the shape of the male palpus with the twisted embolus and the fine appressed lamella, and by the small deeply set scape in the female epigynal plate and the shape of the inner spermathecae.

Distribution. Northern Israel, Lebanon, Syria, southern Turkey. Records: Israel: forests of Mas’ada and Odem Reserve, both sites are in the Golan Heights.

Comments. Adults of both sexes were collected by pitfall traps at Odem Reserve in May and November, and females were collected at nearby Mas’ada forest in April and May. Zoropsis thaleri n. sp. clearly belongs to the subgroup of Zoropsis species with a widened epigynal scape: lutea, media, rufipes (Levy 1990) and the more recently described kirghizicus (Ovtchinnikov & Zonstein 2001) . Simon’s (1884) libanica collected by Abbé A. David at Akbès, south Turkey, was named but not described, as noted already by F. Dahl (1901). A female specimen, likewise named, was collected by Charles Brulerie along his travels, 1869/70, in “ Syria ”; precise locality not known. The latter was recently studied by the late Prof. Konrad Thaler (Thaler et al. 2006: 251). The “libani” species of Brulerie was kindly placed at my disposal (MNHN, B.414, Ar. 216; examined) and was found identical with the specimens here described. However, to avoid nomenclatural confusion, a new name is here given to types from a known locality.