A new species of Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae) from Turkey

A new species Hersiliola turcica sp. n. is described on the basis of both sexes from Southeast Turkey. Males of the new species have an extraordinarily long embolus and females have very long insemination ducts.


Introduction
Hersiliidae is a rather small, globally distributed entelegyne spider family that currently includes 167 species belonging to 15 genera (Platnick 2010). Th e majority of hersiliid species are found in tropical and subtropical regions. Th e family was the subject of several revisions for the Australian, Oriental, Neotropical, and Afrotropical faunas (Baehr and Baehr 1987, 1993, 1998Rheims and Brescovit 2004a-b;Rheims et al. 2004;Dippenaar-Schoeman 2005a-b, 2006). Recently, the most speciose genus in the Palaearctic, Hersiliola Th orell, 1870, was revised by Marusik and Fet (2009). It was shown that the genus is distributed from western Africa to Xinjiang, NW China and in Asia was reported from Afghanistan, Israel, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Currently Hersiliola contains 9 species (Marusik and Fet 2009). In Turkey , Hersiliola macullulata (Dufour, 1831) was recently reported from southernmost Hatay Province (Yağmur et al. 2008).
When the revision of the genus (Marusik and Fet, 2009) was published, it became clear that the specimens from Turkey belonged to an undescribed species with a very peculiar male palp. Th e aim of this paper is the description of the new species of Hersiliola.

Material and methods
A total of 15 specimens of Hersiliola turcica sp. n. (6 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀ and 2 juveniles) were collected between 2004 and 2008 from Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa Provinces which are located in the southeastern part of Turkey. Th e specimens were collected from irregular webs under stones by means of a hand aspirator.
Specimens were photographed using an Olympus Camedia E-520 camera attached to an Olympus SZX12 stereomicroscope. Th e images were montaged using "Combin-eZM" image stacking software. Specimens were photographed in dishes of diff erent sizes with paraffi n wax in the bottom. Holes were made in the paraffi n wax to keep the specimens in the right position. All measurements are given in mm.
Material treated herein is deposited in the Senckenberg Museum (SMF, Frankfurt am Main, Germany), the Museum of Turkish Arachnological Society (MTAS, Ankara, Turkey) and in the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University (ZMMU, Moscow, Russia). Etymology. Th e specifi c name refers to the area of distribution. Diagnosis. Males of the new species diff er from all other congeners by the extremely long embolus with 3.5 coils, the position of embolic base, and the long tegular apophysis. Females of H. turcica sp. n. are similar to those of H. macullulata, H. afghanica and H. sternbergsi in the shape of epigynal plate, but can be distinguished by its proportions (height/width ratio). Th e vulva of new species is similar to that in H. afghanica in having numerous coils, but the two species can be easily separated by Description. Male (holotype). Total length 5.65. Carapace 2.13 long, 2.25 wide, femur I 4.8, femur I/carapace length ratio 2.25. Pattern distinct, carapace with dark marginal bands, four pairs of dots and thin median stripe, cephalic area dark. Abdomen with rhomboidal cardiac spot and four pairs of transverse bands. Th e upper transverse band originates from the cardiac spot. Sides of abdomen with dark band. Legs with wide annulations. Palp as in Figs 4-9. Cymbium 1.43 long; tegulum round, its diameter 0.74; tegular apophysis (Ta) long, claw like, its length almost equal to tegular radius; base of embolus (Be) located at 4 o'clock, embolus (Em) very long and thin, with approximately 3.5 coils, in resting position located in furrow (Ef) running around edge of tegulum. Number of coils is unclear because in all specimens examined, embolus either broken or removed from the tegular furrow.
Epigyne as in Figs 10-13, size slightly variable; with a distinct median plate (Mp) and windows, proportions of median plate and atria slightly variable; septum (Se) as wide as height of epigynal plate, insemination duct (Id) very long, with seven coils around fertilization duct (Fd); receptacula (Re) small and round, diameter equal to that of insemination duct.
Note. One male from Birecik District has totally broken embolus (Fig. 8) and a rotated tegulum that caused translocation of the position of embolic base.
Distribution. Th e specimens were collected from several provinces in Southeastern Turkey (Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa) (Fig.14). During the fi eld trips, we observed that the new species was common between the west of the Fırat (=Euphrates) River and the Mediterranean region. However, the new species was also collected from the east side of the Fırat River. Th is suggests that the distribution range of the new species extends to eastern Turkey which has a Mediterranean climate.

Discussion
With the new species described here, Hersiliola now contains 10 valid species occurring in West and North Africa and the western half of the Palaearctic region. It includes H. afghanica Roewer, 1960 (Afghanistan); H. turcica sp. n. (Turkey), H. esyunini Marusik & Fet, 2009 (Uzbekistan); H. foordi Marusik & Fet, 2009 (Yağmur et al. 2008), this record refers to H. turcica sp. n., and correspondingly only one species of Hersiliola is documented from the country.