Zaitunia spinimana - group

Remarks

This group includes relatively pale-coloured species. Only the clypeus, post-ocular area and dorsal abdominal pattern are slightly darker than the pale background colour. Legs I–IV mostly lacking darker fasciae and are concolorous with the prosoma. The conical tegulum is much shorter than the cymbium. The embolus is relatively long to very long. The endogyne with two pairs of receptacles. Three species are included: Z. martynovae (Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1969) from Tajikistan, Z. spinimana sp. nov. from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and (tentatively, because of the unknown male) Zaitunia inderensis Ponomarev, 2005 from western Kazakhstan.

Key to species of Zaitunia spinimana- group

(Male of Z. inderensis is unknown.)

1. Males ………………………………………………………………………………………………2

– Females ……………………………………………………………………………………………3

2. Femur, tibia and metatarsus I with numerous long ventral and prolateral spines (Fig. 27 A); basal embolic keel absent; embolus shorter, with one loop (Figs 27 C–E, 44A); northwestern Turkmenistan, southwestern Kazakhstan …………………………………… Z. spinimana sp. nov.

– Femur, tibia and metatarsus I armed with a few unmodified spines (Fig. 23 C); basal embolic keel present;emboluslonger,withtwoloops(Figs24 A–D, 43F);Tajikistan, southernTurkmenistan ……… …………………………………………………… Z. martynovae (Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1969)

3. All receptacles are subequal in size (Fig. 27 H–I) ………………………… Z. spinimana sp. nov.

– Median and lateral receptacles differ in size (Figs 25, 26 B–C, E) ……………………………4

4. Median receptacles considerably smaller than lateral pair (Fig. 26 B–C, E); western Kazakhstan ……………………………………………………………………… Z. inderensis Ponomarev, 2005

– Median receptacles considerably larger than lateral pair (Fig. 25) ……………………………… …………………………………………………… Z. martynovae (Andreeva & Tyshchenko, 1969)