Gnaphosidae  Banks, 1892 / Zelotes  Gistel, 1848   132 species

Zelotes similis (Kulczyński, 1887)

Description

Male palp with keel, distally with distinct edge. Epigyne with ± straight lateral cuticular ridge. Prosoma sandy, black-brown to black. Opisthosoma black-brown to black with dark brown scuticula.

Body length male: 6.4-6.9 mm
Body length female: 6.7-10.2 mm
Additional information

on warm slopes with dwarf shrub heath and in woodland with scarce vegetation up to 1500 m, overwinters as adult

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Distribution comment: Hungary: the know records are situated in nowadays' Romania
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Italy, Central Europe to Ukraine and Turkey
Figures
Distribution List
Albania   (Deltshev et al., 2011b) ||| Austria   (Thaler & Knoflach, 2004b) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Croatia   (Milosevic, 2002) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Kosovo   (Vrenozi & Jäger, 2013; Grapci-Kotori et al., 2022) ||| Liechtenstein   (Arnold, 2001) ||| Montenegro   (Naumova et al., 2019a) ||| North Macedonia   (Komnenov, 2014; Deltshev et al., 2013) ||| Romania   (Weiss & Petrișor, 1999) ||| Serbia   (Deltshev et al., 2003b) ||| Slovenia   (Kuralt et al., 2024) ||| Switzerland   (Maurer & Hänggi, 1990) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Danışman et al., 2025a) ||| Ukraine   (Hirna & Yanul, 2023) |||
References

Arnold K (2001) Beitrag zur Spinnenfauna (Arachnida, Araneae) des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Berichte der Botanisch-Zoologischen Gesellschaft Liechtenstein-Sargans-Werdenberg 28: 211-244 pdf

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

Braun R (1963) Einige neue und einige zweifelhafte Spinnenarten aus Österreich (Arachnida, Araneae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 44: 111-128 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 D, Ćurčić B P M, Blagoev GA (2003b) The spiders of Serbia. Inst. Zoology, Fac. Biology, Belgrade & Inst. Zoology, Bulg. Acad. Sci., Sofia. 832 pp.

Deltshev C, Komnenov M, Blagoev G, Georgiev T, Lazarov S, Stojkoska E, Naumova M (2013) Faunistic diversity of spiders (Araneae) in Galichitsa Mountain (FYR Macedonia). Biodiversity Data Journal 1(e977): 1-70 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

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

Hirna A, Yanul V (2023) On some rare and newly recorded spider species for the Ukrainian Carpathians (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 66: 38-43 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

Kolosváry G, Loksa I (1944) VIII. Beitrag zur Spinnenfauna Siebenbürgens. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici, Fauna Hungarica 1: 11-28 pdf

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

Kuralt Ž, Pajek Arambašič N, Ferle M, Kostanjšek R (2024) A contribution to the Slovenian spider fauna – V. Natura Sloveniae 26: 29-42 pdf

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

Thaler K (1981c) Bemerkenswerte Spinnenfunde in Nordtirol (Österreich) (Arachnida: Aranei). Veröffentlichungen des Museum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck 61: 105-150 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 (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2 pdf

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