Whip spiders (Amblypygi, Arachnida) of the Western Palaearctic — a review
Author
Blick, Theo
Author
Seiter, Michael
text
Zootaxa
2016
4161
4
586
592
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4161.4.11
6600f0af-c0c2-42ae-b4e4-80b456581147
1175-5326
272270
2DFE471C-3355-4D17-BF0C-1CD41BEAA12F
Musicodamon atlanteus
Fage, 1939
Figs. 3–6
Fage
(1939)
described this monotypic genus based on the discovery of two female specimens, deposited in the
Muséum
national d’histoire naturelle
Paris
,
MNHN
, collected in the region of
Tata
[about
700m
a.s.l.
] in
Morocco
, and confirmed the generic status later (
Fage
1954
), as did
Weygoldt
(1997)
and
Prendini
et al
. (2005)
.
Its
remarkable stridulatory organs are the main reason for its separated status (
Fage
1939
;
Lawrence
1969
;
Weygoldt
1997
,
2000b
).
Weygoldt
(2000a
,
2000b
) for the first time reported males and confirmed its presence “is still common at the
type
locality” (
Weygoldt
2000a: 29
) – without giving the year of this observation.
Weygoldt
(2000a: 29)
also added two new records from
Algeria
(
Hoggar
=
Ahaggar
, about
1400m
a.s.l.
;
Tassili-n-Ajjer
=
Tassili-n-Ajjer
, about
1100m
a.s.l.
)
.
Prendini
et al
. (2005)
gave coordinates for the material they used in their phylogenetic study near Tata in
July 1999
, collected by
S. Huber
(again collected by
S. Huber
in 2015:
Fig.
3–4
).
Prendini
et al.
(2005
: 231) wrote “several specimens were collected during this and two further visits“.
Prendini
et al.
(2005)
confirmed the generic status of
Musicodamon
but without a fixed position in the relationships of the genera, “
Phrynichodamon
and
Musicodamon
, which were the most unstable in the present analyses, and the matter warrants further investigation” (
Prendini
et al
. 2005
: 224).
The
specification by
Harvey
(2013)
about the
type
locality is misleading, because
Guelmim-Es Semara
was the name of an administrative region and the town
Guelmim
(of which
Harvey
used the co-ordinates) is not situated near Tata.
Habitat
. Caves and deep rock fissures, sometimes found in houses.
Distribution
.
Morocco
and
Algeria
(
Fig. 6
). It is a relict species from a more humid past in northern Africa 5.000– 11.000 years ago (e.g.,
Jolly
et al
. 1998
, deMenocal &
Tierney 2012
) and it is unclear, how far its present distribution extends into the north-western African mountains (
Weygoldt 2000a
). The sites in
Algeria
(
Tab. 1
: nos. 2–3) are close to
Libya
and
Niger
(maximal distance
200 km
). The known sites are situated between
700m
a.s.l. and
1400m
a.s.l. and cover a wide area in north-western Africa (
Fig. 6
).
Weygoldt (2000a: 132)
assumes: “
Musicodamon
from
Morocco
and
Algeria
cope with the desert environment by retreating into places where the conditions are not xeric. It is most likely that they are relicts that have survived the disappearance of forests.”