A synopsis of East-Mediterranean Synaphris Simon, 1894 (Araneae, Synaphridae) with a description of a new species from Israel

Abstract Three species of Synaphris occurring in the East Mediterranean – Synaphris orientalis Marusik & Lehtinen, 2003, Synaphris lehtineni Marusik, Gnelitsa & Kovblyuk, 2005 and Synaphris letourneuxi (Simon, 1884) – are surveyed; and a new species – Synaphris wunderlichi sp. n. – is described from southern Israel on the basis of males. The new species differs from other East- Mediterranean congeners by its smaller size, a smaller lamella with fewer ridges, and a thick palpal femur. Comparative figures are provided for all species from the East Mediterranean.


Introduction
Synaphridae Wunderlich, 1986 is a small family with three genera and 12 species known from the Mediterranean region (including adjacent territories: the Canary Islands and western Turkmenistan) and Madagascar (cf. Platnick 2011). Th e most species-rich genus in the family is Synaphris, containing 10 species: eight from the Mediterranean (from the Canary Islands to western Turkmenistan) and two from Madagascar. Its type species, S. letourneuxi (Simon, 1884), was originally described in Grammonota Emerton, 1882, a linyphiid genus. A decade later after the species description a new genus was suggested for it (Simon 1894). Th is genus was later considered within the Th eridiidae and Symphytognathidae, until Wunderlich (1986) placed it in a separate subfamily of Anapidae. Th e group was given family status by Marusik and Lehtinen (2003). Less than a decade ago, this family was known exclusively from the south-western Palaearctic. Recently, Miller (2007) reported this family from Madagascar and described two species of Synaphris and one new monotypic genus, Africepheia Miller, 2007. Th is fi nding suggests that the Synaphridae are more widespread than previously assumed and probably also occur in eastern Africa.
While studying material collected in Israel by pitfall traps we identifi ed over two dozen specimens belonging to Synaphris and initially thought they might be S. letourneuxi, the species described from Egypt and known only from the male holotype. A detailed examination of our specimens, as well as their comparison with the literature and all the available material, has revealed them to belong to an unknown species. Th is study surveys all the species currently known from the East-Mediterranean region and describes a new species.

Material and methods
Digital photographs of general appearance and copulatory organs were taken using an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope with an Olympus E-520 camera and prepared using the CombineZP software. Th ese photographs were taken in alcohol, in dishes with paraffi n at the bottom. Diff erent-sized hollows were made at the bottom to maintain the specimens in the desired position. Scanning electron photos were taken using the SEM JEOL JSM-5200 scanning microscope at the Zoological Museum, University of Turku. All measurements are in mm. Type material will be deposited at the Department of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University (TAU), the National Spider Collection at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (HUJ), Göteborgs Naturhistoriska Museum (GNM) and the Zoological Museum, University of Moscow (ZMMU). Th e terminology follows Marusik and Lehtinen (2003). Only one abbreviation has been used on the fi gures: La -lamella. All measurements are in mm.

Taxonomic survey
To date, three species of Synaphris have been known from the East-Mediterranean region (east of 20°E) (cf. Platnick 2011). All of them are known from type localities only. A synopsis of these species including the new one is given below.
Comments. Th is species was described on the basis of 30 specimens collected from a single Crimean locality (Marusik et al. 2005). After the species was described, repeated attempts to recollect it from the type locality have been unsuccessful (Kovblyuk pers. comm.). Th is may indicate that its population density can fl uctuate signifi cantly. Although not recollected from the type locality, it was found in one more locality on the south-eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula (Kovblyuk et al. 2008). Here we provide only comparative fi gures that enable its discrimination from other East-Mediterranean species. S. lehtineni is the northernmost species of the genus. All specimens were found under stones in the sub-Mediterranean Quercus-Pistacia-Abies-Juniperus forest, on small sheet-webs (Kovblyuk pers. comm.). Comments. Th is is the type species of the genus. Th e species remains known from the male holotype only, collected in Aswan (=Assuan, Egypt). Although it has been redescribed several times, details of its male palp remain unknown. Neither lamella, nor the embolus basis, the course of the seminal duct or position of the cymbial furrow have been depicted or verbally described. Comments. Like the type species, S. orientalis remains known from the male holotype only, collected in western Turkmenistan. Despite this, the species was studied by means of scanning electron microscope and properly described by Marusik and Lehtinen (2003). Note. Although the species was numerous in pitfall traps, the second author (SZ) was unable to fi nd any specimen by hand-picking or sifting the litter.

Synaphris orientalis
Etymology. Th e species name is a patronym in honour of our friend and colleague, the noted arachnologist Jörg Wunderlich (Germany), who erected the subfamily Synaphrinae.
Diagnosis. Th e new species can be separated from other East-Mediterranean species, S. orientalis, S. lehtineni and S. letourneuxi, by its smaller size (carapace < 0.5, in all other species longer than 0.5). In addition to size, the new species can be recognized by the relatively smaller lamella (cf. Figs 8, 12-13), with less developed ridges. Number of lamellar ridges in the new species (about 6) is approximately half that of its East-Mediterranean congeners. In addition, S. wunderlichi sp. n. has a relatively shorter and thicker palpal femur (cf. Figs 14-15, 17-19, 22). Th e new species is most similar in size to S. dalmatensis Wunderlich, 1980, but the Balkan species has relatively longer legs, and unlike other Synaphris species, it has tarsus I shorter than metatarsus I (0.24 and 0.21 respectively). Th e shape of the lamella in S. dalmatensis is unknown. Th e palp as in 14,[18][19][20]. Femur short and thick; patella small; tibia wide, round and fl at (Fig. 14); lamella lanceolate with six longitudinal ridges, lamella invisible in compound microscope in prolateral view, but can be found in terminal view (Fig. 20); seminal duct in the base of embolus is straight (Fig. 18).
Distribution. Type locality only. Comments. When we fi rst examined these specimens from Israel, we thought that they might be conspecifi c with the generotype, S. letourneuxi, described and known from neighbouring Egypt. Th e type locality of S. letourneuxi, near Aswan (=Assuan), is quite distant from southern Israel. Th e holotype of S. letourneuxi is 1.28 long, with carapace 0.53 long, distinctly larger than the new species. In addition to diff erences in the terminal part of the bulbus, S. letourneuxi has a thinner and relatively longer palpal femur (cf. Fig. 22). Unfortunately, the lamella in this species remains unknown, as in all other species described prior to its fi rst observation in 2003.

Conclusions
All Synaphris species are very similar in general appearance and diff er only in details of the terminal part of the bulbus and shape of the lamella; the latter is yet known only in S. wunderlichi sp. n. Females are known in a few species, making it impossible to provide an identifi cation key for the entire genus, or even for the species occurring in the East Mediterranean. Nevertheless, the species living eastward of 20°E can be easily diff erentiated by their sizes (Table 1) Interestingly, all the Synaphris species described from the Palaearctic Region, except for S. lehtineni known from two localities (see Map 1) are known from a single locality, whereas both species from Madagascar were found in several localities, even on the opposite sides of the island. Th e same holds true for Cepheia longiseta (Simon, 1881), which is known from at least seven separate localities, from south-west Portugal to Switzerland (Lopardo et al. 2007). In the Palaearctic Region all Synaphris species are allopatric, whereas in Madagascar there are four localities in which both S. schlingeri Miller, 2007and S. toliara Miller, 2007co-occur (see Miller 2007. Given that all the Palaearctic species have a very local distribution, it is likely that any new fi ndings may represent a new species. We expect a true species diversity of Synaphris to be at least twofold its presently known one.