A survey of the Alopecosa cursor species group (Aranei: Lycosidae) from Asia

Abstract

<p>Species belonging to the Alopecosa cursor group from Central Asia have been surveyed. Four species are recognized: A. cursor (Hahn, 1831) (male female, Iberian Peninsula to Northern Xinjiang and Altai), A. cursorioides Charitonov, 1969 (male female, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and possibly NE Iran), A. passibilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) (male, SW Xinjiang), and A. pentheri (Nosek. 1905) (male female, Italy to Azerbaijan). Alopecosa cursorioides stat.n. was originally described as a subspecies ofA. cursor. A new combination, Alopecosa passibilis comb.n., is suggested for the species originally described in Lycosa and currently considered in Pardosa. A. cursor and A. pentheri occur sympatrically in the Crimea and Caucasus. Faunistic records of these species are often mixed up due to indistinguishable females. Detailed information of distribution, habitat preferences, and phenology of A. cursor and A. pentheri in the Crimea are provided.<br /></p>