'Burning Violin': The Medically Important Spider Genus Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, With Two New Species

Alireza Zamani; Omid Mirshamsi; Yuri M Marusik

doi:10.1093/jme/tjaa257

'Burning Violin': The Medically Important Spider Genus Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, With Two New Species

J Med Entomol. 2021 Mar 12;58(2):666-675. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa257.

Authors

Alireza Zamani¹, Omid Mirshamsi^{2

3}, Yuri M Marusik^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, FI, Finland.
² Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Research Department of Zoological Innovations (RDZI), Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Institute for Biological Problems of the North RAS, Magadan, Russia.
⁵ Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

PMID: 33300575
DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa257

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; Peru; loxoscelism; recluse spiders; violin spiders.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biodiversity
Brown Recluse Spider / anatomy & histology*
Brown Recluse Spider / classification*
Female
Male
Middle East
Turkmenistan