The spider genus Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903 (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Spiders of the gnaphosid genus Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903 occurring in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are surveyed on the basis of a large collection deposited in the American Museum of Natural History. Within the examined material, six species were recognized, four of which are described as new to science: P.arabicasp. n. (♂♀), P.esyuninisp. n. (♂), P.nadolnyisp. n. (♂) and P.stevensisp. n. (♂), and two are newly recorded for the fauna of the UAE: P.dalmasi Fage, 1929 (hitherto known from Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and possibly Iran) and P.kovblyuki Zamani & Marusik, 2018 (hitherto known only from Iran). Illustrations for all treated species and a map of collection localities are provided.

Taxonomical Study of Spiders (Order, Araneae) from Different Localities of Iraq

“…Active dwelling hunter which doesn't build webs. (Zamani, 2018). The present study recorded this species for the first time in Iraq.…”

“…Fauna of Arabia mainland and Yemen which defined by Knoflach and Harten (2002). Spiders of the Gnaphoside genus Pteroticha Kulczyn`ski, 1903 which occurring in the United Arab Emirates are surveyed on the basis of a large collection, six species of this genus were recognized, four of which are described as new to science (Zamani, 2018).…”

New data on Gnaphosidae (Arachnida, Araneae) of Iraq

“…New record for Iraq. Previously, this species was only provisionally recorded from Iran based on a single female specimen (Zamani et al 2018), and specimens of both sexes from United Arab Emirates were only tentatively matched (Zamani 2018); the finding of the two sexes in the same locality reinforces the correct matching of this female with the male of P. dalmasi.…”

First description of the female of Pterotricha esyunini Zamani, 2018 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Iraq

“…With 44 described species, Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903, is a relatively large genus of ground spiders that occurs in deserts and semi-arid habitats of Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia (Levy 1995;World Spider Catalog 2023). Previously, three species of this genus were recorded or described from Iraq: P. arzhantsevi Fomichev, Marusik & Koponen, 2018 in Dohuk Province (Fomichev et al 2018), P. esyunini Zamani, 2018and P. kovblyuki Zamani & Marusik, 2018in Thi-Qar Province (Al-Yacoub et al 2021a2021b). Several species of Pterotricha are known from neighboring countries: six species from Iran (Zamani et al 2022), five species from Türkiye (Danışman et al 2023) and six species from the United Arab Emirates (Zamani 2018).…”

“…Previously, three species of this genus were recorded or described from Iraq: P. arzhantsevi Fomichev, Marusik & Koponen, 2018 in Dohuk Province (Fomichev et al 2018), P. esyunini Zamani, 2018and P. kovblyuki Zamani & Marusik, 2018in Thi-Qar Province (Al-Yacoub et al 2021a2021b). Several species of Pterotricha are known from neighboring countries: six species from Iran (Zamani et al 2022), five species from Türkiye (Danışman et al 2023) and six species from the United Arab Emirates (Zamani 2018).…”