Persiscape gideoni ( Levy, 1996 ) Zamani & Marusik, 2020

Zamani, Alireza & Marusik, Yuri M., 2020, A review of Agelenini (Araneae: Agelenidae: Ageleninae) of Iran and Tajikistan, with descriptions of four new genera, Arachnology 18 (4), pp. 368-386 : 376-377

Persiscape gideoni ( Levy, 1996) comb. n.

( Figs. 3 C–D, 6A, I, 9A, 11C–D, 12H–L, 15C)

Agelescape gideoni Levy 1996: 91 , figs. 20–23 (♂♀).

Agelescape dunini Guseinov, Marusik & Koponen 2005: 158 , figs. 1–2, 6–8 (♂♀), syn. n.

Agelescape gideoni: Zamani et al. 2016: 101 , figs. 1–3 (♀).

Material examined: IRAN: Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province: 1♀ ( MHNG), Farsan , 32°17′N 50°31′E, 11 August 1973 (A. Senglet) ; Golestan Province: 1♀ ( MHNG), Tang-e Rah , 37°25′N 55°45′E, 28 July 1974 (A. Senglet) ; Isfahan Province: 1♀ ( MHNG), Riz-e-Landjan , 32°24′N 51°19′E, 1600 m, 11 August 1973 (A. Senglet) ; Kerman Province: 3♂ ( MHNG), Baft, Kuh-e Shah, August 2018 (A. Zamani) ; Qazvin Province: 1♀ ( MHNG), Hassanabad , 36°26′N 50°13′E, 1750 m, 03 July 1975 (A. Senglet) ; Tehran Province: 1♂ 1♀ 15 juv. ( MMUE), ~ 80 km E of Tehran, Damavand area, Aroo Vil., 35°40′N 52°27′E, 15 June 2000 (Y. M. Marusik, F. Mozaffarian); 2♂ 1♀ 1 juv. ( MMUE), Latian Dam , 35°48′N 51°08′E, 06–19 June 2000 (Y. M. Marusik); 3♂ 3♀ 1 juv. ( MMUE), 5 km N of Tehran, Tochal Mountain , 35°53′N 51°20′E, 2000–2900 m, 16 June 2000 (Y. M. Marusik, F. Mozaffarian, R. Bahramishad) .

Diagnosis: Males of P. gideoni differ from P. nassirkhanii sp. n. and P. zagrosensis sp. n. by lacking round or triangular extensions (Ee) near the base of the embolus ( Figs. 6A, I , 9A ). Females of P. gideoni are most similar to those of P. levyi by having a bifurcate scape. The two species can be separated by the relative width of the scape and fovea: in P. gideoni , the fovea is 2.5× wider than the scape and in P. levyi it is 2× wider ( Fig. 12H ).

Description: Described by Levy (1996) and Guseinov, Marusik & Koponen (2005, sub A. dunini ).

Remarks: Zamani et al. (2016) mentioned that the shape of the epigyne is highly variable in A. dunini ( Azerbaijan) , showing left-right asymmetry. Therefore, A. dunini differs from P. gideoni only by the bifurcated scape, the anchorshaped foveal plate, and body size, all of which are highly variable even within the same population. Considering this, and that the males of A. dunini and P. gideoni do not differ morphologically, we consider A. dunini a junior synonym of P. gideoni .

Records in Iran: Alborz, Mazandaran, Tehran, ( Zamani et al. 2020), Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, Golestan, Isfahan, Kerman, Qazvin (current data).

Distribution: Israel to Iran (15C).

Figures

Fig. 3: A, B Live females of Agelescape livida from Negev, Israel; C, D live females of Persiscape gideoni from Mazandaran, Iran. Courtesy of Amir Weinstein (A–B) and Alireza Zamani (C–D).

Fig. 6: SEM micrographs of male palps. A Persiscape gideoni, bulb, ventral view; B P. ecbatana sp. n., bulb, ventral view; C P. levyi, bulb, ventral view; D Agelescape cf. livida, from Israel, bulb, ventral view; E P. ecbatana sp. n., bulb, retrolateral view; F Gorbiscape gorbachevi sp. n., bulb, ventral view; G Agelescape cf. livida, from Israel, whole palp with removed bulb; H same, bulb, anterior view; I Persiscape gideoni, bulb, anterior view. Scale bars = 0.1 mm, if not otherwise indicated. Abbreviations: Be = base of embolus, Cb = base of conductor, Co = conductor, Em = embolus, Pe = embolar process.

Fig. 9: Bulb, ventral view. A Persiscape gideoni; B P. nassirkhanii sp. n.; C P. zagrosensis sp. n.; D P. caspica sp. n.; E P. ecbatana sp. n.; F P. levyi. Scale bar = 0.2 mm, if not stated otherwise.

Fig. 12: Epigynes, different specimens showing variation.A Persiscape levyi, ventral view;B same, dorsal view; C same, ventral view;D same, dorsal view; E same, ventral view; F same, posterior view; G same, dorsal view; H P. gideoni, ventral view; I, D same, posterior views; K, L same, dorsal views; M P. caucasica, ventral view; N same, posterior view; O same, dorsal view. E–G, H–I, L–O after Guseinov, Marusik & Koponen (2005). Scale bars = 0.2 mm, unless otherwise indicated.