Neon rayi (Simon, 1875)

Zonstein, Sergei, Marusik, Yuri & Omelko, Mikhail, 2015, A survey of spider taxa new to Israel (Arachnida: Araneae), Zoology in the Middle East 61 (4), pp. 372-385 : 381

Neon rayi (Simon, 1875) ( Figure 5 )

Neon rayi: Roberts, 1998: 207, f. (♂♀).

For a complete synonym listing and references, see the World Spider Catalog (2015). Material. ISRAEL: Upper Galilee, Mt. Meron , Ziv’on, 800 m, 33°00’N 35°24’E, 9– 16.V.2007 (T. Levanony) – 1♂ ( TAU ).

Comments. This species has a characteristic pattern (Figs 6a, c‒d) that allows even juvenile specimens to be identified to species. Neon rayi has a West Palaearctic distribution and is known from the Iberian Peninsula to Kazakhstan ( Helsdingen, 2014; Mikhailov, 2013). It was not previously known from Israel, and the record from Upper Galilee is the southernmost in the entire range.

Figures

Figure 5. Habitus and epigyne of Neon rayi from Turkey. – a. female habitus, dorsal; b. epigyne, ventral; c ‒ d. male habitus, dorsal and lateral.