Adonea Simon

Miller, Jeremy A., Griswold, Charles E., Scharff, Nikolaj, Řezac, Milan, Szűts, Tamas & Marhabaie, Mohammad, 2012, The velvet spiders: an atlas of the Eresidae (Arachnida, Araneae), ZooKeys 195, pp. 1-144 : 19-20

Adonea Simon

Adonea Simon 1873: 157. Type species Adonea fimbriata Simon, 1873.

Storkaniella Kratochvíl and Miller 1940: 93, figs 2, 4. Synonymy in Lehtinen 1967: 208, 265.

Note.

Adonea contains one recognized species, Adonea fimbriata Simon, 1873, from the Mediterranean. In addition, Eresus algericus El-Hennawy, 2004 is transferred to Adonea and may be a junior synonym of Adonea fimbriata . We examined syntype specimens from Algeria and Tunisia, and additional specimens from the Algeria-Morocco border and Israel.

Diagnosis.

Male distinguished from other eresids except Paradonea splendens by the profile of the carapace, which has the posterior part of the cephalic region overhanging the anterior part of the thoracic region (Fig. 19D); distinguished from Paradonea splendens by several characters including the subtriangular shape of the cephalic region that is rounded posteriorly (Fig. 19A; trapezoidal in Paradonea splendens and straight poster iorly, Fig. 68D) and by the mesally contiguous chelicerae (Fig. 19C; mesally excavated in Paradonea splendens , Fig. 68F).

Female distinguished from other eresids except Loureedia gen. n., Eresus walckenaeri Brullé, 1832, and some Paradonea species by the relatively large PME (AME/PME ca. 0.4, Fig. 19G); distinguished from Loureedia gen. n. by the longer than wide cephalic region (wider than long in Loureedia gen. n.); from Eresus walckenaeri by the presence of a glabrous median lobe between the copulatory openings (Fig. 22A; hirsute cuticle between the copulatory openings in Eresus walckenaeri , Fig. 42B); and from Paradonea variegata by the nearly vertical posterior margin of the cephalic region (Figs 1A, 19H; cephalic region only moderately raised in Paradonea variegata ); females of other Paradonea species are unknown. The proportions of the epigynum in Adonea , which is more than two times wider than long, further separates it from most eresids (Figs 16A, 22A).

Natural history.

Known from Loess desert habitat with low shrubs, often in wadis. They build a simple vertical or inclined burrow lined by silk, often on the edge of stones. The opening is covered by a silken flap camouflaged from above by debris. Signaling threads radiate out from the edges of this roof. Prey include various epigaeic arthropods, especially beetles from the family Tenebrionidae . Prey remnants are incorporated into the roof of the burrow. Males take approximately 2-3 years to mature, females one year longer (Martin Forman, personal observation).