In addition to the genus diagnosis, the following features characterize the species:MALECephalothorax: dorsal surface light fawn with a copper gleam, including eye field and narrow area beneath lateral eyes; edges of eye field, slope of posterior cephalothorax and sides darker, blackish brown, in some specimen there is a white belt (unpigmented tegument and remnants of white setae) around thorax at edge of flat dorsal surface, continuing as white narrowing streak under lateral eyes; dorsal surface almost bald, without any distinct pattern of setae on eye field.Abdomen reddish (in older preserved specimen fading gradually to pink, yellow and finally whitish); strikingly white anterior edge; indistinct darker chevrons posteriorly and equally indistinct dark spots laterally along dorsal margin; sides black anteriorly (beneath white edge) and laterally. Differs from E. jucunda which has abdomen light yellow (if not faded) divided by thin brownish grey lines; small contrasting dark triangular spot in centre of dorsal surface; posterior four light chevrons broad; sides almost entirely dark mottled yellow, with four pairs of inconspicuous lighter diagonal spots. Frontal aspect: face reddish brown, eyes I surrounded with reddish setae (in fresh specimen only ventrally); clypeus fawn with orange setae with irregular dark bristles along ventral edge; chelicerae reddish brown with strong black setae; pedipalps brown with white setae on tip of femur and patella – the only white spot visible frontally; legs I light brown, with tibia, patella and apical femur slightly darker brown. E. jucunda differs by having face brown, with short adpressed and sparse blackish setae without any striking character, dark orange on rims of eyes I, presence of a few small inconspicuous whitish setae on the very edge of clypeus; cymbium and tibia of pedipalps dark yellow with blackish setae; pedipalpal patella and femur dorsally light with whitish setae. Palpal organ: bulbus anteriorly angular, embolus narrow from the posterior end of bulbus, running parallel to side of bulbus with the tip pointed anteriorly, tibia slightly shorter; differs strikingly from E. jucunda with its broadly truncated bulbus, embolus arising in the mid length of bulbus, with the tip pressed to anterior edge of bulbus. Ventral aspect: generally light brown, abdomen darker brown to black. Legs blackish brown, femora I–IV proximally dark grey (these are white in E. nepos, an important difference, easy to spot); tarsi-metatarsi yellow except I, which is darker. © PRÓSZYŃSKI 2003 Body: Markings: dark or bright vertical stripes. Eyes: AER: dorsal edge straight. dorsal edge procurve. Labium: Length: longer than wide. wider than long. Embolus: Shape: wrapped < 1 around bulbus. Distribution: Geographical Distribution: Europe. Middle East. FEMALECephalothorax brown to fawn, with a copper gleam, traces of light belt around the dorsal edge of thorax and under lateral eyes (in E. jucunda to eyes II only); in a studied specimen dorsal surface almost bald, with traces of minute adpressed colourless setae which do not make any distinct pattern.Abdomen in the studied specimen now light yellow with anterior edge white, followed by a belt of dark grey dots and then by yellow transverse belt, there is a median streak of widely spaced grey dots up to the end of abdomen, one pair of diagonally transverse dots in the middle and one pair of lateral streaks of grey dots along posterior half of the abdomen. Frontal aspect: eye field up to dorsal rims of eyes I appears dark, face yellow, eyes I surrounded by white setae, clypeus fawn with dense white flattened setae, sides below ALE and laterally brownish, chelicerae fawn with a few longer white setae, pedipalps light brown with darker faint lines and long whitish setae, legs I light brown, with femora whitish. Ventral aspect: mouth parts fawn, sternum and coxae light fawn, abdomen greyish with lighter margins of median rectanglar area and three longitudinal whitish streaks. Epigynum with vertical posterior sclerotized wall resembling Langona, possibly being a pair of huge, modified pockets, while in all remaining Evarcha pockets are lateral and small; single whitish membranous “window” in the anterior half of epigynum, with sclerotized internal structures visible in an s-shaped bend, with largest median part transverse; copulatory opening not visible externally – apparently located postero-laterally, along sclerotized edge of the window. Some differences in epigynum of specimen from Ma’agan Mikhael, particularly spacing of pockets and slightly different shape of spermathecae (Fig. 226), may suggest a different species, but the material for such a conclusion is, however, insufficient. The epigynum closely resembles E. jucunda in which, however, whitish membraneous part is divided into two round windows incompletely separated by two indistinct sclerotized streaks corresponding with underlying copulatory channels (in less sclerotized epigynum that partition may be not discernible and window may appear single); copulatory opening were found in semicircular slits along edge of membraneous areas; sclerotized internal spermathecae channels run straight anteriorly through the middle of the epigynum. © PRÓSZYŃSKI 2003 Body: Markings: dark or bright vertical stripes. Eyes: AER: dorsal edge straight. dorsal edge procurve. Labium: Length: longer than wide. wider than long. Distribution: Geographical Distribution: Europe. Middle East. COMMENTSDiagnosis. Male abdomen reddish orange with anterior edge white, embolus narrow, not encircling anterior edge of bulbus, tip pointed anteriorly; clypeus reddish orange, in female whitish.Remark. Description of E. syriaca Kulczyński (1911: 52–53), seems to correspond with E. patagiata (particularly reddish orange clypeus devoid of white setae) and this confirms my assumption that these species are actually synonyms; Kulczyński mentions white clypeus for male E. jucunda which may suggest that he has actually also seen specimen of an uncertain species described below. Seasonal appearance of adult specimens. Males – II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XII; females – II, V, VIII, IX. © PRÓSZYŃSKI 2003 |