Gnaphosidae  Banks, 1892 / Zelotes  Gistel, 1848   132 species

Zelotes oblongus (C. L. Koch, 1833)

Description

Bulbus distally with a fringy apophysis on the outer side. Embolus thin and straight. Epigyne without stronger sclerotised regions except for a semicircular cuticular fold. Prosoma red brown to dark brown, in brighter specimens with radial stripes. Opisthosoma red-brown to dark brown, male with dark brown scuticula.

Body length male: 4.3-6.8 mm
Body length female: 5.2-7.5 mm
Distribution
  Presence
  Not established
  No data
Distribution comment: Germany: see comment by Blick et al. (2016)
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Europe, Turkey
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Albania   (Deltshev et al., 2011b) ||| Austria  Removed (Thaler & Knoflach, 2004b) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Croatia   (Milosevic, 2002) ||| France   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Greece / Crete  Removed (Bosmans et al., 2013) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Kosovo   (Vrenozi & Jäger, 2013; Grapci-Kotori et al., 2022) ||| Montenegro   (Naumova et al., 2019a) ||| North Macedonia   (Komnenov, 2014) ||| Romania   (Weiss & Petrișor, 1999) ||| Serbia   (Grbić & Savić, 2010) ||| Slovenia   (Kostanjšek & Kuntner, 2015) ||| Switzerland   (Maurer & Hänggi, 1990) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Danışman et al., 2025a) |||
References

Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018) pdf

Blick T, Finch O-D, Harms K H, Kiechle J, Kielhorn K-H , Kreuels M, Malten A, Martin D, Muster C, Nährig D, Platen R, Rödel I, Scheidler M, Staudt A, Stumpf H, Tolke D (2016) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneae) Deutschlands. 3. Fassung, Stand April 2008, einzelne Änderungen und Nachträge bis August 2015. Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 70/4: 383-510 pdf

Bosmans R, Chatzaki M (2005) A catalogue of the spiders of Greece – a critical review of all spider species cited from Greece with their localities. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische arachnologische Vereniging 20 (2, suppl.): 1-124 pdf

Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Kronestedt T, Alderweireldt M, Bosselaers J, De Koninck H (2013) Spiders of Crete (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from the Greek island of Crete. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 28 (Suppl. 1): 1-147 pdf

Chyzer C, Kulczyński W (1897) Araneae Hungariae. Tomus II. Academia Scientarum Hungaricae, Budapest, pp. 147-366, pl. 6-10. pdf

Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2025a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2025 [last updated 01 December 2025], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info pdf

Deltshev C, Vrenozi B, Blagoev G, Lazarov S (2011b) Spiders of Albania – faunistic and zoogeographical review (Arachnida: Araneae). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 63: 125-144 pdf

Grapci-Kotori L, Geci D, Naumova M, Ibrahimi H, Bilalli A, Musliu M, Gashi A, Kasumaj E (2022) Spiders from Sharr Mountain – new faunistic data (Arachnida: Araneae). Natura Croatica 31: 335-350 pdf

Grbić G, Savić D (2010) Contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) on the Fruška Gora Mt. Acta Entomologica Serbica 15: 243-260 pdf

Grimm U (1985) Die Gnaphosidae Mitteleuropas (Arachnida, Araneae). Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg (NF) 26: 1-318 pdf

Helsdingen P J van, IJland S, Komnenov M (2018) Inventory of the spiders (Araneae) of the border region of northern Greece with Albania and FYR Macedonia. Nieuwsbrief SPINED 37: 5-23 pdf

Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204 pdf

Jézéquel J F (1962a) Contribution à l'étude des Zelotes femelles (Araneida, Labidognatha, Drassodidae "Gnaphosidae") de la fauna française. Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft (Zool. Anz.) 25(Suppl.): 519-532 pdf

Komnenov M (2014) Spider fauna of the Osogovo Mt. Range, Northeastern Macedonia. Fauna Balkana 2: 1-267 pdf

Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91 pdf

Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468 pdf

Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12 pdf

Miller F (1967) Studien über die Kopulationsorgane der Spinnengattung Zelotes, Micaria, Robertus und Dipoena nebst Beschreibung einiger neuen oder unvollkommen bekannten Spinnenarten. Přírodovědné práce ústavů Československé Akademie Věd v Brně (N.S.) 1: 251-298 pdf

Milosevic B (2002) Aranea – Popis vrsta – Checklist. Hrvatsko entomološko društvo – Inventar entomofaune Hrvatske [Aranea – List of species – Checklist. Croatian Entomological Society – Inventory of Croatian entomofauna]. pdf

Naumova M, Lazarov S, Deltshev C (2019a) Faunistic diversity of the spiders in Montenegro (Arachnida: Araneae). Ecologica Montenegrina 22: 50-89 pdf

Reimoser E (1937) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea, VIII. 16: Familie Gnaphosidae oder Plattbauchspinnen; 17: Familie Anyphaenidae oder Zartspinnen; 18: Familie Clubionidae oder Röhrenspinnen. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 33: 1-99 pdf

Thaler K, Knoflach B (2004b) Zur Faunistik der Spinnen (Araneae) von Österreich: Gnaphosidae, Thomisidae (Dionycha pro parte). Linzer Biologische Beiträge 36: 417-484 pdf

Vrenozi B, Jäger P (2013) Spiders (Araneae) from Albania and Kosovo in the collection of Carl Friedrich Roewer. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 46: 17-26 pdf

Weiss I, Petrișor A (1999) List of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Romania. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 41: 79-107 pdf

WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (20.5.2026) doi: 10.24436/2 pdf

Updates
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