Zelotes erythrocephalus (Lucas, 1846)

SPECIES |   ACCEPTED

LSID: urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028194

Permalink: https://wsc.nmbe.ch/lsid/urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028194

Described:

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Distribution: Canary Is., Spain, Italy (Sicily), Greece, North to South Africa, Cyprus, Turkey, Middle East, Central Asia


Type Repository Provide information
  • Holotype: Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main (SMF), Germany f (9900600) of Drassodes cofiniotes - (Levy, 1998c)
  • Holotype: Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB), Germany f (28683) of Setaphis anchoralis - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Syntype: Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB), Germany 1f (28684; not holotype, there are 2f mentioned in the original description) of Setaphis bechuanica - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Syntype: Museo Zoologico di Storia Naturale "La Specola", Università degli Studi di Firenze (MZUF), Florence, Italy 1m 1j (677; m is not a holotype, cf. FitzPatrick, 2007) of Zelotes sidama - (Berdondini & Whitman, 2003)
  • Syntype: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France 1m 1f of Zelotes simplex - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Holotype: Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) = Hope Entomological Collections Oxford (HECO), Oxford, UK m (B267) of Zelotes curinus - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Syntype: Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) = Hope Entomological Collections Oxford (HECO), Oxford, UK 2m (B265 t66) of Zelotes scutatus - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Holotype: Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town (SAMC), South Africa f (B6197) of Zelotes demonaica - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Holotype: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France f (AR1891) of Zelotes impexus - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Syntype: Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town (SAMC), South Africa 2f (5277) of Zelotes oneili - (FitzPatrick, 2007)
  • Holotype: Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main (SMF), Germany m of Prosthesima jaffana - (Levy, 1998c)
Taxonomic References
Drassus erythrocephalus Lucas, 1846: 223, pl. 13, f. 7 (Dmf) Original description
Macaria erythrocephala Simon, 1864: 113
Drassus scrutatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872: 239, pl. 15, f. 16a (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028381]
Melanophora picina O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872: 242, pl. 16, f. 20 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062049]
Melanophora scutata O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872: 244, pl. 16, f. 24 (Dm) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062054]
Prosthesima curina O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874a: 379 (Dm) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062038]
Prosthesima erythrocephala Simon, 1878a: 98
Prosthesima picina Simon, 1878a: 98
Prosthesima scutata Simon, 1878a: 98
Drassus scutatus Simon, 1878a: 156
Prosthesima impexa Simon, 1886g: 383 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028249]
Scotophaeus scrutatus Simon, 1893a: 371
Melanophora o'neili Purcell, 1907: 332, pl. 15, f. 62 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028327]
Setaphis bechuanica Purcell, 1908: 240, pl. 11, f. 26 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:027940]
Setaphis anchoralis Purcell, 1908: 240, pl. 11, f. 27 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:027937]
Setaphis bicolor Simon, 1908a: 424 (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062031]
Prosthesima scutata Strand, 1915c: 142 (S of Prosthesima jaffana; confirmed by Levy, 1998c: 125)
Prosthesima jaffana Strand, 1915c: 143 (m, invalid provisional name) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:067140]
Setaphis bechuanica Tucker, 1923: 322, pl. 9, f. 45 (Dmf)
Zelotes oneili Tucker, 1923: 367
Zelotes demonaica Lawrence, 1927: 16, pl. 1, f. 9 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028176]
Drassodes cofiniotes Roewer, 1928b: 105, pl. 1, f. 10 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062037]
Drassodes erythrocephalus Denis, 1937b: 1037, pl. 2, f. 5 (m)
Zelotes simplex Denis, 1937b: 1036, pl. 1, f. 3 (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:062056]
Zelotes sidama Caporiacco, 1941b: 109, f. 34 (Dm) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028388]
Zelotes bucharensis Charitonov, 1946: 26, f. 39-40 (Dmf; see also Charitonov, 1969: 106) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:028145]
Zelotes erythrocephalus Marinaro, 1968: 691, f. 7 (f)
Herpyllus bicolor Tikader, 1982b: 458, f. 368-371 (f; no justification of a generic transfer is provided and the illustrations are based on a misidentified specimen, not the type as claimed, and shows a member of the Zelotes puritanus subgroup, not a Herpyllus per Platnick, 1989b: 477; misidentified per Sankaran, Caleb & Sebastian, 2021b: 2846)
Zelotes scrutatus Levy, 1998c: 125, f. 35-36, 37a, 62-68 (mf, T from Scotophaeus, S of Drassodes cofiniotes, Setaphis bicolor, Zelotes picinus, Z. scutatus and Z. simplex; S of Z. jaffanus confirmed)
Zelotes scrutatus Chatzaki, Thaler & Mylonas, 2003: 69, f. 72-76 (mf, S of Zelotes bucharensis)
Zelotes scrutatus FitzPatrick, 2007: 111, f. 35-38 (mf, S of Setaphis anchoralis, S. bechuanicus, Zelotes demonaicus, Z. impexus, Z. oneili and Z. sidama)
Zelotes scrutatus Wunderlich, 2011: 87, 407, f. 98-101, 25-30 (mf)
Zelotes scrutatus Zamani et al., 2017c: 63, f. 3D (f)
Zelotes scrutatus Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2021E: 46, p. 46: 5 f., p. 47: 4 f. (mf)
Zelotes erythrocephalus Barrientos et al., 2024c: 34, f. 3A-B, pl. 2A-B (m)
Zelotes erythrocephalus Lecigne, Moutaouakil & Lips, 2025: 72, f. 41A-F (m)
Zelotes scrutatus Lecigne, Moutaouakil & Lips, 2025: 132, f. 74I-K (m)
Zelotes scrutatus Zamani et al., 2025b: 25, 13C-D, 14C-D, 15A-D, 16D-F (m)
Zelotes erythrocephalus Ouakri et al., 2026: 16, f. 6A-C (f)
Zelotes erythrocephalus Lecigne et al., 2026: 46 (S of Zelotes scrutatus)
References

Barrientos, J. A., De Mas, E., Gavín-Centol, M. P., Pertegal, C., Salazar, B., Fenoy, E., Balanzategui, I., Mederos, J., Montserrat, M., Barranco, P. & Moya-Laraño, J. (2024c). Arañas (Arachnida: Araneae) del Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Almería, España); 2ª aportación. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 45: 27-59. -- Show included taxa

Caporiacco, L. di (1941b). Arachnida (esc. Acarina). Araneae. Missione Biologica Sagan-Omo, Reale Accademia d’Italia, Roma 12(Zoologia 6): 46-175. -- Show included taxa

Charitonov, D. E. (1946). New forms of spiders of the USSR. Izvestija Estedvenno-Nauchnogo Instituta pri Molotovskom Gosudarstvennom Universitete imeni M. Gor'kogo 12: 19-32. -- Show included taxa

Chatzaki, M., Thaler, K. & Mylonas, M. (2003). Ground spiders (Gnaphosidae; Araneae) from Crete and adjacent areas of Greece. Taxonomy and distribution. III. Zelotes and allied genera. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 110(1): 45-89. doi: 10.5962/bhl.part.80176 -- Show included taxa

Denis, J. (1937b). On a collection of spiders from Algeria. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 106(4): 1027-1060, pl. 1-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1936.tb06301.x -- Show included taxa

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A. S., Haddad, C. R., Foord, S. H. & Lotz, L. N. (2021E). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide, Irene, 53 pp. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7197783 -- Show included taxa

FitzPatrick, M. J. (2007). A taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical species of Zelotes (Arachnida: Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 14(3): 97-172. doi: 10.13156/arac.2011.14.3.97 -- Show included taxa

Lawrence, R. F. (1927). Contributions to a knowledge of the fauna of South-West Africa V. Arachnida. Annals of the South African Museum 25(1): 1-75, pl. 1-4. -- Show included taxa

Lecigne, S., Moutaouakil, S. & Lips, J. (2025). Contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna of Morocco (Arachnida: Araneae) – second note. On new species and new records from caves and miscellaneous terrestrial ecosystems. Journal of the Belgian Arachnological Society 40(1, supplement): 1-184. -- Show included taxa

Lecigne, S., Moutaouakil, S., Lips, J. & Hénon, N. (2026). Contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna of Morocco (Arachnida: Araneae) – third note. On sixteen new species, and noteworthy records. European Journal of Taxonomy 1067: 1-88. doi: 10.5852/ejt.2026.1067.3292 ZooBank: 2A65CAB2-523D-4906-9C5A-8989DBA94841 -- Show included taxa

Levy, G. (1998c). The ground-spider genera Setaphis, Trachyzelotes, Zelotes, and Drassyllus (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 44: 93-158. -- Show included taxa

Lucas, H. (1846). Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés. In: Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie pendant les années 1840, 1841, 1842 publiée par ordre du Gouvernement et avec le concours d'une commission académique. Paris, Sciences physiques, Zoologie 1, 89-271, pl. 1-17. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.112444 -- Show included taxa

Marinaro, J.-Y. (1968). Les araignées d'Afrique du Nord. I. Sur une collection de Drassidae à peigne metatarsal d'Algérie. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 92(4, 1967): 687-704. [[year corrected per Frétey, 2023: 90]] -- Show included taxa

Ouakri, N., Lecigne, S., Abou Oualid, J. & Dugon, M. (2026). Spiders from the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve of Souss-Massa region (Morocco), and descriptions of two new species (Arachnida: Araneae: Gnaphosidae, Salticidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 1051: 1-50. doi: 10.5852/ejt.2026.1051.3261 ZooBank: C276C8C3-DE56-49B7-B5F9-D4777C67BE8B -- Show included taxa

Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1872). General list of the spiders of Palestine and Syria, with descriptions of numerous new species, and characters of two new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 40(1): 212-354, pl. 13-16. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1872.tb00489.x -- Show included taxa

Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1874a). On some new species of Drassides. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 42(3): 370-419, pl. 51-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1874.tb02495.x -- Show included taxa

Purcell, W. F. (1907). New South African spiders of the family Drassidae in the collection of the South African Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (7) 20(118): 297-336, pl. 13-15. doi: 10.1080/00222930709487339 -- Show included taxa

Purcell, W. F. (1908). Araneae (I). In: Schultze, L. (ed.): Zoologische und anthropologische Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise im westlichen und zentralen Südafrika. Erster Band: Systematik und Tiergeographie. Zweite Lieferung. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 13: 203-246, pl. 11. -- Show included taxa

Roewer, C. F. (1928b). Araneae. In: Zoologische Streifzüge in Attika, Morea und besonders auf der Insel Kreta. II. Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 27(1): 92-124, pl. 1-2. -- Show included taxa

Simon, E. (1864). Histoire naturelle des Araignées (Aranéides). Roret, Paris, 540 pp. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.47654 [[there are two published versions of pp. 65-68, version 1 from BHL, version 2 from Munich library]] -- Show included taxa

Simon, E. (1878a). Les arachnides de France. Tome quatrième, contenant la famille des Drassidae. Roret, Paris, 334 pp., pl. 14-16. -- Show included taxa

Simon, E. (1886g). Etudes arachnologiques. 18e Mémoire. XXVI. Matériaux pour servir à la faune des Arachnides du Sénégal. (Suivi d'une appendice intitulé: Descriptions de plusieurs espèces africaines nouvelles). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (6) 5: 345-396. -- Show included taxa

Simon, E. (1893a). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier. Roret, Paris, pp. 257-488. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.51973 [[second pdf with detailed publication dates of the single parts]] -- Show included taxa

Simon, E. (1908a). Etude sur les arachnides recueillis par M. le Dr. Klaptocz en Tripolitaine. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 26: 419-438. -- Show included taxa

Strand, E. (1915c). Dritte Mitteilung über Spinnen aus Palästina, gesammelt von Herrn Dr J. Aharoni. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 81(A2): 134-171. -- Show included taxa

Tikader, B. K. (1982b). Part 2. Family Gnaphosidae. In: The fauna of India. Spiders: Araneae. Vol. II. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, pp. 295-536. -- Show included taxa

Tucker, R. W. E. (1923). The Drassidae of South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 19(2): 251-437, pl. 8-11. -- Show included taxa

Wunderlich, J. (2011). Extant and fossil spiders (Araneae). Beiträge zur Araneologie 6: 1-640. [[publ. in April]] -- Show included taxa

Zamani, A., Enayatnia, M., Mirshekar, A., Mayvan, M. M., Kováč, L. & Marusik, Y. M. (2025b). New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), part XII. Zootaxa 5601(1): 1-45. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5601.1.1 -- Show included taxa

Zamani, A., Mirshamsi, O., Dolejš, P., Marusik, Y. M., Esyunin, S. L., Hula, V. & Ponel, P. (2017c). New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), part IV. Acta Arachnologica 66(2): 55-71. doi: 10.2476/asjaa.66.55 -- Show included taxa

External Resource References

* Disclaimer
As External Resources, the World Spider Catalog links here to species pages of other databases. They may contain further information for the given species. The databases, listed as External Resources, however, are not managed by World Spider Catalog and the information given there is not necessarily in agreement with the World Spider Catalog. All responsibility for such data is with the external database.

Nentwig, W., Blick, T., Bosmans, R., Kropf, C., Stäubli, A.: Spiders of Europe. www.araneae.nmbe.ch. Version 01.2026. doi: 10.24436/1

GBIF.org (2026). GBIF Home Page (via GBIF API). Available from: https://www.gbif.org [8 January 2026]

Edit History
Date Type Reference Old value Comment
2026-06-14 New taxonomic reference entry Lecigne et al., 2026
2026-06-14 Species distribution update Lecigne et al., 2026 Old value
2026-06-14 New taxonomic reference entry Lecigne et al., 2026
2026-04-21 New taxonomic reference entry Ouakri et al., 2026
2025-04-07 New taxonomic reference entry Lecigne, Moutaouakil & Lips, 2025
2025-04-07 Species distribution update Lecigne, Moutaouakil & Lips, 2025 Old value
2024-12-27 New taxonomic reference entry Barrientos et al., 2024c
2024-12-27 Species distribution update Barrientos et al., 2024c Old value

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