Uralophantes troitskensis, Esyunin, 1992

Gnelitsa, V. A., 2022, A New Uralophantes From The South Ukraine (Araneae, Linyphiidae, Ipaeinae), Zoodiversity 56 (1), pp. 21-28 : 27

U. troitskensis Esyunin, 1992 (figs 5, 6, 9, 20–23, 28, 29)

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Russia: type locality: Cheliabinsk Region, Troitsk District, 10 km South of Berlin settlement, Troitskiy Wood-and-Steppe sanctuary, 53.9381° N, 61.2265° E ( Esyunin, 1992); Orenburg Region, Sol-Iletsk District, Chybynda cavin, 50.9334° N, 54.8499° E ( Esyunin, Tuneva & Farzalieva, 2007); Orsk (S. Esyunin, pers. comm.); Rostov Region, Ust’-Donetsk District, 12 km to the East of Veshenskaya settlement, Razdorskaya settlement vicinity, Atamanskaya gully, 47.5489° N, 40.6537° E ( Ponomarev et al., 2017); Lebyazhinsky Khutor vicinity, 49.6040° N, 41.9143° E ( Ponomarev et al., 2017) fig. 29 .

Biology. The specimens were captured in litter of dry open places ( Esyunin, 1992; Ponomarev et al., 2017), on the grass in patch forest with birch ( Azheganova, 1951).

C o m m e n t s: Data on U. troitskensis Esyunin, 1992 in both Cheliabinsk and Orenburg Regions were confirmed by Sergey Esyunin. For the rest points in Russia, the correctness of identification of U. troitskensis Esyunin, 1992 need corroboration.

Discussion. Drawings of U. troitskensis male palp, although being somewhat schematic, nonetheless are accurate enough for comparison of two Uralophantes species. Judging from the figures certain palp parts of U. troitskensis differ in structure from those of U. ponticus sp. n. or entirely absent of all examined specimens of the new species. Beside that the palps of U. ponticus sp. n. from remote places (Sumy, Kherson, and Penza Regions) are quite conservative in their structure. Thus I consider U. ponticus sp. n. to differ considerably from U. troitskensis not representing a case of intraspecific variability of the last one.

I thank Nina Polchaninova (Kharkiv, Ukraine), who kindly provided specimens from Luhansk Region ( Ukraine) and Penza Region ( Russia), and Sergey Esyunin (Perm, Russia) for unpublished data on U. troitskensis Esyunin, 1992 distribution.

Figures

Fig. 29. Distribution data: U. ponticus sp. n. — solid triangle; U. troitskensis Esyunin, 1992 — solid circle (data confirmed); open circle (data need to be confirmed).