SPIDERS OF THE FAMILIES ANYPHAENIDAE, HAHNIIDAE, CTENIDAE, ZORIDAE, AND HERSILIIDAE (ARANEAE) FROM ISRAEL

Abstract

All the taxa discussed, except for one, are barely known from the Middle East. The spider families Anyphaenidae and Hahniidae are recorded from Israel for the first time. Although Anyphaena syriaca was known from its sole record from Beirut, Lebanon, over ninety years ago, the European Hahnia candida reported here from Israel is the first hahniid found in the Middle East. The Ctenidae was known from this part of the world only by the record of a very young specimen collected in Israel in 1865. Newly collected adults and young proved to belong to Anahita, a genus not formerly known from west Asia. Zoridae that were reported from Israel by Strand in 1915 are misidentifications of Zora manicata, not formerly known from the Middle East. In addition, a new zorid genus and new species, Israzorides judaeus, are described. Of the Hersiliidae with the exceptionally long spinnerets, only very few specimens of Hersilia caudata, not formerly known from Israel, were collected in the southern parts of the country. Hersiliids with relatively short spinnerets are represented in Israel by two species: the rather common Hersiliola simonii and the less abundant H. macullulata. The latter is recorded for the first time from Israel. The following new synonyms are recognized: Zora jaffana Strand, 1915 = Zora manicata Simon, 1878; and Hersiliola lucasii O.P.-Cambridge, 1876 = Hersiliola simonii (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872).