In addition to the genus diagnosis, the following features characterize the species:FEMALECephalothorax brown; eye field blackish brown; dorsum of thorax lighter brown with sparse, adpressed, dark setae with median, darker brown area separated by very indistinct, lighter streaks with some short weak, whitish setae along dorso-lateral edge; sides of cephalothorax brown; edge of carapace ventrally dark with sparse minute, whitish setae. Abdomen - dorsal surface damaged.Frontal aspect similar to Ph. ferberorum but better preserved and more distinct: AME surrounded dorsally by longer reddish setae, laterally and medially by whitish, ventrally by sparser, short and very inconspicuous whitish setae; ALE surrounded dorsally by longer red setae, laterally and ventrally by shorter, whitish setae; clypeus almost bald, brown with two lighter pigmented spots, medially (perhaps an individual feature), with a few thin, very sparse and inconspicuous whitish, adpressed setae, not affecting its appearance, and a few brown bristles; chelicerae brown; pedipalps brown, lighter patella with whitish setae and lighter extremities of segments; legs I brown with remnants of inconspicuous, transverse rows of thin white, adpressed setae across the prolateral edge of tibia and patella. Ventral aspect light brown. Legs I-IV similar to Ph. ferberorum but with slightly more contrasting light stripes and annuli. Epigynum with two posterior grooves, about half the length of the epigynum, expanded angularly anterolaterally, closed posteriorly by a rim, divided by a narrow septum; copulatory opening, narrower than in Ph. fulvastra and Ph. pori, narrowing funnel-like and passing into the first convoluted chamber located lateral to the median chain of chambers, but not broader than them, the median chain ending at level of rim of copulatory opening. Measurements (mm). Female. Length of cephalothorax 3.08, length of abdomen: 3.33. © PRÓSZYŃSKI 2003 Body: Markings: dark or bright vertical stripes. Eyes: AER: dorsal edge procurve. Labium: Length: wider than long. Distribution: Geographical Distribution: Middle East. COMMENTSDiagnosis. Face with dorsal orbital setae reddish, laterally and medially whitish. Clypeus brown, without contrasting setae. Epigynal grooves rimmed around, anteriorly broad with antero-lateral angles expanded, narrowing posteriorly, septum narrow with edges parallel.Etymology. Named for Dr. Gershom Levy, the curator of the Israel National Arachnid Collection, kept in the Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. © PRÓSZYŃSKI 2003 |