Description of a new Tegenaria Latreille, 1804 from southern Turkey with remarks on the Tegenaria ariadnae species-complex (Arachnida, Araneae)

Abstract A new cave-dwelling species of Tegenaria, T. lazarovisp. nov., is described from southern Turkey, based on both sexes. The new species belongs to the T. ariadnae species-complex which is distributed in the Eastern Mediterranean (Crete, northern Libya). The new species is compared to its morphologically closest congeners. New taxonomically relevant pictures are given for two of them. The distribution of the Tegenaria ariadnae species-complex is summarized and discussed.


Introduction
With 112 valid species (WSC 2020), Tegenaria Latreille, 1804 is one of the largest genera in the spider family Agelenidae. The genus is very species-rich in Turkey. Demir and Seyyar (2017) listed 31 species, Özkütük et al. (2017) and Topçu and Demircan (2018) added two more, increasing the number of known species from the country to 33. Many of these species are known by one sex only. Especially high is the number of species where only the female is known (12 spp.), while in just one species only the male is known. The remaining 20 species are known by both sexes. The species known only by females are described mostly from caves by Brignoli (1972bBrignoli ( , 1977Brignoli ( , 1978aBrignoli ( , 1978b and the absence of the male sex is a cause of certain difficulties in the taxonomy of the genus.
While processing unidentified material collected in 2006 by my colleagues Stoyan Lazarov and Pavel Stoev in Turkish caves, I discovered an unknown Tegenaria species captured in an unnamed cave situated between Anamur and Silifke, southern Turkey. The species is described below and its possible relationships, as well as the distribution of the T. ariadnae species-complex, are discussed.

Material and methods
The material was preserved in vials with 80% ethanol in the field. The specimens were examined and measured using a Wild M5A stereomicroscope; all measurements are in mm. Pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 1100D digital camera attached to a Carl Zeiss Amplival microscope. The drawings were executed on a Wacom tablet and using Adobe Illustrator graphic design software. The map was generated with the Sim-pleMappr API. Colour was described from specimens preserved in ethanol. The male palp and epigyne were dissected in order to be studied and illustrated. The epigyne was cleared in lactic acid. Leg measurements formula: total length (coxa + trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). Tarsus length includes claws.   Other material. 3 ♀ juveniles, the same data as holotype (NMNHS). Comparative material examined. Tegenaria vallei Brignoli, 1972. ♂ holotype, Libya, Cyrenaica, Lete Cave, Benghasi, 06.04.1966, Valle and Bianchi leg., 1 ♂ paratype, the same locality as holotype, 31.12.1967, Valle leg. (MBCG); 1 ♀ paratype, the same locality as holotype, 31.12.1967, Valle leg. (MCSN); Tegenaria pieperi Brignoli, 1979. ♀ holotype, Crete, Sitia, Agios Georgios, Megalo Katafigi Cave, 21.05.1977.
Etymology. The species is dedicated to my colleague, Bulgarian arachnologist Stoyan Lazarov who provided me with the type material. He was chosen over Pavel Stoev by tossing a coin.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in southern Turkey. Remarks. Two Tegenaria species known from Crete, namely Tegenaria pieperi Brignoli, 1979 andTegenaria schmalfussi Brignoli,1976 are also similar to T. ariadnae and T. lazarovi sp. nov. Tegenaria pieperi Brignoli, 1979 is known only by the female which differs from T. lazarovi sp. nov. by the rectangular MPE and the smaller and much higher positioned receptacles (Fig 18). The male of T. schmalfussi differs from T. lazarovi sp. nov. by the lack of VPC and the smaller DBTA and LBTA (Bosmans et al. 2013, figs 50-52); the female can be distinguished by the smaller MPE and different shape of the receptacles (Bosmans et al. 2013, figs 53-54). I would include in this species complex also Tegenaria vallei Brignoli, 1972, known from a cave near Benghazi, Libya. Its male can be distinguished by having conductor with entirely missing VPC (Fig. 13) and different DBTA and LBTA (Figs 14, 15). The female differs by the oval MPE (Fig. 16) and the longer receptacles (Fig. 17). The T. ariadnae species-complex has a typical Eastern Mediterranean distribution with three species known from Crete, one from northern Libya and one from southern Turkey (Fig 19). It is interesting that T. lazarovi sp. nov. appears more closely related to species inhabiting Crete and northern Libya than to any of the Tegenaria species known from the Turkish mainland. However, the current knowledge of the spider fauna of the easternmost Mediterranean (especially in north-eastern Africa) is insufficient to provide an explanation for this observation.