Description of a new species of Zodarion Walckenaer (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Turkey

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  Description of a new species of Zodarion Walckenaer (Araneae: Zodariidae) from Turkey Introduction Zodariidae Thorell, commonly known as ant-eating spiders, is one of the most diverse spider families, comprising over 1300 species across 90 genera (World Spider Catalog  Citation 2026 ). Members of the family are distributed worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions (World Spider Catalog  Citation 2026 ). Within this large family, the genus Zodarion Walckenaer, is represented by 176 species (World Spider Catalog  Citation 2026 ). Currently, 157 Zodarion species are known from Europe (Nentwig et al .  Citation 2026 ). In Turkey, the family Zodariidae comprises 37 species in four genera. Most of them, 34 species, belong to the genus Zodarion (Danışman et al. ,  Citation 2025 ). Within the genus, eight species of the ‘ germanicum ’ species group are found in Turkey: Zodarion abantense Wunderlich, Z. bigaense Bosmans, Özkütük, Varlı, and Kunt, ...

A new species and the phylogenetic placement of the Neotropical genus Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 (Araneae, Philodromidae)

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A new species and the phylogenetic placement of the Neotropical genus Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 (Araneae, Philodromidae)

Abstract

Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 is a genus of small flat pale spiders from the running crab spider family Philodromidae, which currently includes the type-species Gephyrellula violacea (Mello-Leitão, 1918), and the recently described G. lavidabonita Galvis et al., 2024. The genus has appeared in phylogenetic analyses as a member of the subfamily Philodrominae, but there are conflicting hypotheses regarding its closest relatives. One analysis placed Gephyrellula among the Hawaiian genera Pedinopistha Karsch, 1880 and Pagiopalus Simon, 1900, whereas the other placed it among species of Philodromus Walckenaer, 1826. To further investigate the topic, we conducted new phylogenetic analyses using four molecular markers and including two terminals of Gephyrellula. The resulting trees support the division of the family into two subfamilies Thanatinae and Philodrominae, with Gephyrellula as a member of the latter. Our results place Gephyrellula neither as a member of the Hawaiian clade nor among the genus Philodromus, but instead as a separated lineage. In addition to the phylogenetic analysis, we describe a new species of the genus named Gephyrellula condeuba sp. nov., and provide new records of G. violacea, expanding the known distribution of the genus.

Schinelli HBP, Wanderley do Prado A, Cerqueira Baptista RL, Takiya DM (2025) A new species and the phylogenetic placement of the Neotropical genus Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 (Araneae, Philodromidae). Evolutionary Systematics 9(1): 87-98. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.143758