The genera Agroeca, Agraecina, Apostenus and Scotina in the Maghreb countries (Araneae: Liocranidae)
Author
Bosmans, Robert
text
Bulletin Di L' Institut Royal Des Sciences Naturelles De Belgique Entomologie
1999
69
25
34
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.826217
c08a0701-368a-475e-9e86-35edc68ff30b
826217
Agroeca annulipes
Simon, 1878
(
Figs 1-4
)
Agroeca annulipes
Simon 1878
: 304 (descr. female);
Simon 1932
: 972 (descr. female, non male);
Canard 1989
: 28.
Figs. 1-4 —
Agroeca annulipes Simon.
- I. Male palp, lateral view; - 2. Idem, ventral view; - 3. Epigyne, ventral view; - 4. Vulva,
ventral view.
Figs. 5-8 —
Agroeca maghrebensis
n. sp.
- 5. Male palp, lateral view; - 6. Idem, ventral view; - 7. Epigyne, ventral view; - 8.
Vulva, ventral view.
Agroeca liocranoides
Denis 1956
: 198 (descr. female) (N. Syn.).
Type material:
Holotype
female
of
A. annulipes
from
France
,
Corsica
, without further locality (
MNHNP
26419
); examined
.
Diagnosis: Closely related to
A. maghrebensis
n. sp.
in colour and spination, but easily distinguished in the male by the gently curved apophysis on the palpal tibia, in the female by the epigyne with the median depression being
much wider anteriorly than posteriorly and by the oblique copulation ducts.
Remarks:
Simon (1878)
described the species for a female from Corsica. I consider the only female from that locality present in the
MNHNP
as the
holotype
. In my material from the Maghreb, conspecific females were rather frequently collected, often together with males, and I am definitely sure they match. I redescribe here the female, and describe the male for the first time.
In 1932
, Simon described what he thought to be the male of
A. annulipes
, but this is in fact a new species, also present in our collection. Simon’s specimen is not available (absent in the
MNHNP
), but his Fig.ure of the male palp with dorsal denticle on the tibia allows clear identification. It is described below as a new species, closely related to
A. annulipes
but easily distinguished by palps and epigyne.
In 1956, Denis described a female from Morocco as
Agroeca liocranoides
. I could not trace the type material. His Fig.ure of the epigyne shows the same oblique, clearly separated copulation ducts as in
A. annulipes
, considered here as an important diagnostic character to separate it from related species. I therefore consider
A. liocranoides
Denis. 1956 a
junior synonym o f
A. annulipes
Simon, 1878
.
Description:
Measurements: Male: Total length 3.8-5.1; carapace 2 02-2.44 long, 1.44-1.96 wide. Female: Total length 5.4- 6. 4; carapace 2.44-2.72 long, 1.84-2.26 wide.
Colour: Carapace with median yellowish brown, longitudinal stripe, laterally mottled dark brown, pale specimens with submarginal yellowish brown stripe; legs: Fe dark olive brown, with narrow, discontinuous yellowish brown stripes, Pa and Ti olive brown, Mt and Ta yellowish brown, in Mt I-II suffused with olive brown; abdomen dorsally with olive grey stripe with postero-median dark grey chevrons. Female: carapace as in male; legs yellowish brown, Fe distinctly annulated with dark olive brown; abdomen dorsally dark brown, laterally mottled with dark grey; venter pale yellowish brown.
Legs: Ti I-II with two pair of ventral spines, Mt I-II with three pair of ventral spines.
Palp (
Figs. 1-2
): Tibia with bluntly pointed apophysis, slightly curved upwards; median apophysis with broad base, distally with small pointed tooth; embolic part with small distal indentation.
Epigyne (
Fig. 3
): Relatively small compared to other
Agroeca
species; much longer than wide, with elongate, posteriorly rounded median depression, nearly touching epigastric furrow, depression in anterior half with narrow median septum; depression often filled with secretions (“ copulation marks”).
Vulva (
Fig. 4
): Copulation ducts oblique, not touching in middle; spermathecae rounded, wider than ducts.
Material examined and citations:
France
-
Corsica
:
La Porta
,
Muro, Vizzavona, Bastelica
(
Simon
1878
,
1932
).
Spain
-
Cadiz
:
Tarifa
,
1 female
,
III.1991
,
P. Poot
leg. (
CPP
)
.
-
Malaga
:
Alozaina N.
,
200m
,
1 male
in litter in small Quercus suber forest
,
9.IV.1999
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
Italy
-
Sardinia
:
Sassari
(
Simon
1932
).
Algeria
-
Alger
:
without further locality
(
Simon
1932
)
; El Harrach,
25m
,
1 female
in garden,
30.I.1985
,
and
2 males
,
31.X.1985
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
-
Bouira
:
E. Bechloul
,
Oued Zaiana
,
400m
,
1 female
in tamarisk litter,
28.IV.1988
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
-
Boumerdes
:
Rhegaia
,
1 male
in pitfalls in coastal marsh,
7.XI.1987
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
-
Chleff
:
Damous
,
5m
,
1 female
in Pistacia lentisca maquis,
17.IV. 1987
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
;
S. Tenes
,
gorges de l’Oued Allala
,
1 female
, stones,
6.V.1989
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
-
Saida
:
without further locality
(
Simon
1932
).
-
Tipasa
:
Bou Haroun
,
30m
,
1 female
, stones in grassland,
21.I.1987
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
;
Douaouda
,
Oued Mazafran
,
50m
,
24 males
10 females
, pitfalls in Populus alba forest,
16.XII.86
-
26.II.1988
,
and
4 males
1 female
in pitfalls in Olea maquis,
30.X.1988
,
R. Bosmans
leg.
(
1 male
1 female
in
MNHNP
,
1 male
1 female
in
IRSNB
, rest in
CRB
)
;
between
Staoueli and Bouchaoui
,
70m
,
1female
, stones in rough grassland,
3.I.1987
,
R. Bosmans
leg. (
CRB
)
.
-
Tissemsilt
:
Djebel Ouarsenis
(
Simon
1932
).
-
Tlemcen
:
Nemours
(
Simon
1932
).
Morocco
-
Aïn Sebaa
(
Denis
1956
).
Distribution-. Corsica (
Simon, 1878
,
1932
;
Canard, 1989
), Sardinia (
Simon 1932
), Morocco (
Denis 1956
) and Algeria (
Simon 1932
); cited here also for the first time from Spain.
Ecology. Exclusively occurring at low altitudes near the coast. Adult mainly in winter. Males were only collected in November, females from November to May.