 |
| Loxosceles coheni Zamani, Mirshamsi & Marusik, 2021 |
Abstract
The taxonomic status of the medically important spider genus Loxosceles Heineken et Lowe, 1832 (Sicariidae) in Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan is revised. Two species are described as new to science: Loxosceles coheni sp. n. (♂♀, southwestern Iran) and Loxosceles turanensis sp. n. (♂♀, southern Turkmenistan and eastern Iran). Additionally, Loxosceles alicea Gertsch, 1967 syn. n. (♀, Peru) is synonymized with Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820). The local distribution of all treated species is mapped (including several new records), and reported cases of loxoscelism from this region are briefly reviewed.
Keywords: Central Asia, loxoscelism, Peru, recluse spiders, violin spiders
Taxonomy
Family Sicariidae Keyserling, 1880
Genus Loxosceles Heineken et Lowe, 1832
Type species. Scytodes rufescens Dufour, 1820,
by subsequent designation of Bonnet (1957).
Loxosceles coheni sp. n.
Etymology. The new species is named in honor of Leonard Norman Cohen (21 September 1934 to 7 November 2016), a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, novelist, and the most favorite artist of the first author, because his music kept him working during the long, cold, and dark winters of Finland.
Loxosceles turanensis sp. n.
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to Turan, a term of Iranian origin referring to a historical region in Central Asia and northeastern Iran, in which the currently known range of the new species is located.
Loxosceles persica Ribera et Zamani, 2017
Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820)
Alireza Zamani, Omid Mirshamsi and Yuri M Marusik. 2021. ‘Burning Violin’: The Medically Important Spider Genus Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, with Two New Species. Journal of Medical Entomology. 58(2); 666–675. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa257
New Species of Recluse Spider Named for Leonard Cohen
