Oecobius navus Blackwall, 1859

Marusik, Yuri M. & Zonstein, Sergei, 2024, The spider genus Oecobius (Araneae: Oecobiidae) in Israel, with description of a new species and new synonymies, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 53 (17), pp. 49-62 : 56-57

Oecobius navus Blackwall, 1859

( Figs 4E, 5D, 6C)

Oecobius navus Blackwall, 1859: 266 .

Hersiliola brachyplura Strand, 1913: 148 (♂); Strand 1914: 182 (♀), n. syn.

Hersiliola brachyplura demaculata Strand, 1914: 183 (♀), n. syn.

Oecobius annulipes : Baum 1972: 119 (♀); misidentified, not O. annulipes Lucas, 1846 ( Wunderlich 1995: 595).

Oecobius brachyplura : Fet 2008: 67.

Oecobius brachyplura demaculatus : Fet 2008: 67.

Oecobius navus : Wunderlich 1995: 595, figs 31–35 (♂ ♀); Zonstein & Marusik 2013: 62.

Material examined: Israel: Central Coastal Plain : 1♂, 0.5 km N Ga'ash (12.5 km NNE Tel Aviv), 32°14'N 34°49'E, 25 m, 15.iv.2015, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU) ; 1♀, campus of Tel Aviv University , 32°06.9'N 34°48.5'E, 45 m, 25.i.2010, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU) ; 2♂, 1♀, same but 30.iv.2013, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU); 1♀, same but 26.xii.2021, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU); 2♀, same but 22.iii.2023, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU); 4♀, Tel Aviv, 32°04'N 34°47'E, 20 m, 8.v.2012, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU) ; 1♂, same but 20.ix.2013, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU); 2♀, same, but 29.iii.2019, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU); 1♂, Bat Yam, 14.vii.2012, A. Weinstein (SMNHTAU). Southern Coastal Plain : 3♀, Rehovot , 22.03.2023, S. Zonstein (SMNHTAU) .

Distribution: Mediterranean, Russia (European part), Azerbaijan, Jordan and Iran. Introduced to the USA, China and Japan ( WSC 2024). In Israel, the species has previously been recorded from Yafo [=Jaffa] ( Baum 1972; under O. annulipes ) and environs of Tel Aviv ( Strand 1913, 1914; under Hersiliola brachyplura and H. b. demaculata, respectively).

Habitat: In Israel, the species has been found only in the anthropogenic environments.

Note: For justification of the proposed new synonymy see Discussion below.