A new species of Scytodes from Algeria (Araneae: Scytodidae), with a review of the species from the Maghreb
Author
Keer, Johan Van
Author
Bosmans, Robert
text
Zootaxa
2014
3894
1
131
140
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3894.1.10
070bad44-ab8f-4f98-9149-a934b7dcb318
1175-5326
229096
65C56C33-2735-43C0-B6A6-A41A0BA38C39
Scytodes annulipes
Simon, 1907
, stat. n.
Figs 17–20, 24, 28, 33
Scytodes bertheloti
:
Simon 1885
: 40
;
Simon 1899
: 82
;
Simon 1910
: 305
;
Denis 1964
: 105
;
Brignoli 1976
: 151
.
Scytodes bertheloti annulipes
Simon, 1907
: 249
;
Simon 1908a
: 421
;
Simon 1910
: 305
;
Caporiacco 1936
: 71
.
Note
. Authors who cited
S. bertheloti
in the past were not always consequent in using the name of the nominal species
S. bertheloti
or the subspecies
S. b. annulipes
.
Diagnosis.
Scytodes annulipes
is closely related to
S. thoracica
. Males differ by the elongated legs, with Femora I twice as long as the carapace, the presence of a row of short black spines on Femora I and the bulb gradually narrowing into the stylus. Females differ by the scutula separated by less than their diameter. Usually they can also be separated by their colour. In
S. annulipes
, the longitudinal stripes on the carapace are narrower and not interconnected as in
S. thoracica
, and the abdomen has rows of spots instead of stripes as in
S. thoracica
.
Previous records.
ALGERIA
,
Djelfa
, Tadmit (
Simon 1899, sub
S. bertheloti
).
LIBYA
,
Gharyan
,
Djebel Tigrina (= Djebel Taghrinnah;
Simon 1909
, sub
S. b. annulipes
);
Sabah
, Gadua (= Gheddoua;
Denis 1964
, sub
S. bertheloti
), Sebha (=Sabah;
Caporiacco 1936
;
Denis 1964
, sub
S. bertheloti
);
Sha‘bīyat al Buţnān
: Porto Bardia (=Bardiya;
Caporiacco 1928
, sub
S. bertheloti
).
TUNISIA
,
Gabes
, Gabes (
Simon 1885, sub
S. bertheloti
);
Kairouan
, Jebel Trozza (
Brignoli, 1976, sub
S. bertheloti
), Kairouan (
Brignoli 1976
);
Kebili
, Nefzaoua (
Simon 1909, sub
S. b. annulipes
), Oum Ali (
Simon, 1885, sub
S. bertheloti
);
Sidi Bouzid
: Jebel Bou Hedma (
Simon 1885, sub
S. bertheloti
);
Tataouine
,
Tatatouine (
Simon 1910, sub
S. bertheloti
).
New records.
ALGERIA
:
Djelfa
, Djebel Sénalba,
1350 m
, pitfalls in
Pinus
plantation, 1♀ (CRB),
10.VI.1989
;
El Oued
, El Hamraia,
33 m
,
1♂
, litter in palm yard,
1 ♂
(CRB),
1.XI.1989
;
Ghardaia
,
Beni Isguen,
525m
, pitfalls in palm yard, 3♂♂ 2♀♀ (CRB),
3.XI.1989
;
Illizi
, Bordj Omar Driss, litter in irrigated gardens,
1♂
1♀ (CRB),
6.V.1990
;
Khenchela
, Forêt des Beni Ouled, SE Djebel Tarzout,
1500 m
, stones in grassland in open
Cedrus atlanticus
forest, 1 ♀
1 subadult
♀, (CRB),
15.X.1987
;
M’sila
, Bou Saada S., Aïn Oghrab,
650 m
, pitfalls in
Pinus
forest,
2♂
1 ♀ (CRB),
23.VI.1990
;
Skikda
, Bouchata,
400 m
, stones in grassland,
3 subadult
♀♀ (CRB),
12.III.1990
;
Souk Arras
, Bou Hadjar,
900 m
, stones in degraded
Quercus ilex
forest,
4 subadult
♀♀ (CRB),
9.II.1988
(CRB);
Tamanrasset
, Tehe-n-Kalan,
20 km
S. Djebel Telertheba,
1♂
(CRB), K. De Smet leg.,
5.II.2003
.
TUNISIA
,
Ben Arous
,
Jebel Ressas, 1 ♀ (CRB),
28.I.2003
;
Bizerte
, Gareet et Mebtouba, between Fejja and Zana,
5m
, stones bordering salt marsh, 2♀♀ (CRB),
25.I.1995
;
Jendouba
,
Bulla Reghia,
500 m
, stones in Roman ruins,
1 ♂
3♀♀ (CRB),
24.I.1990
, Ghardimaou W.,
250 m
, stones in grassland,
3 subadult
♀♀ (CRB),
5.III.2005
;
Kairouan
,
Hayeb el Ayoun,
350 m
, stones in steppe, 2♀♀ (CRB),
26.I.1995
;
Kasserine
, Thala
5 km
W., stones in
Pinus
forest, 1 ♀ (CRB),
10.V.2006
;
El Kef
,
Sakiet Sidi Youcef E.,
859m
, stones in
Pinus
forest, 3♀♀ (CRB),
5.III.2005
;
Medenine
,
El Hallouf, stones in
Eucalyptus
plantation, 3♀♀ (CRB),
13.XII.1989
, Ksar Djouama,
480 m
, stones in steppe,
1♂
2♀♀ (CRB),
13.XII.1999
;
Nabeul
,
Grombalia,
60 m
, stones in wasteland,
1 ♂
1♀ (CRB),
25.I.1995
;
Siliana
,
Siliana
20 km
S., road to Kesra, stones in
Pinus halepensis
forest,
1 ♂
2 subadult
♀♀ (CRB),
27.I.2003
;
Tataouine
,
Chenini,
400 m
, litter in palm yard, 1 ♀ (CRB),
14.XII.1999
; Kirchaou E.,
85m
, stones in steppe,
1♂
1♀ (CRB),
14.XII.1999
;
Tunis
,
La Goulette,
5m
, stones in
Pinus
plantation, 2♂♂ (CRB),
30.II.2003
;
Zaghouan
,
El Fahs, Tuburbu Majus ruins,
175m
, stones in ruins, 12♂♂ 13♀♀(CRB),
24.I.1995
, Jebel Zaghouan,
500 m
,
1 subadult
♀, stones in
Pinus halepensis
forest,
24.I.1995
(CRB), Saouaf E.,
750 m
, stones in
Juniperus
maquis, 1 ♀ (CRB),
24.I.1995
, Zriba village,
100 m
, stones along Oued el Hammam,
2 ♂
3♀♀
3 subadult
♀♀ (CJVK, CRB).
Comments.
Scytodes bertheloti
was originally described by
Lucas (1838)
from the Canary Islands. Lucas’s figure 9 shows a spider with long legs, without spots on the prosoma, and without annulations of the legs.
In 1907
, Simon described its subspecies
S. b. annulipes
from material from
Tunisia
, evidently differing from
S. bertheloti
by its annulated legs. According to Wunderlich (1987),
S. bertheloti
is a doubtful species, its original description more resembling that of
Loxosceles
, while
S. b. annulipes
is a different species. This view is followed here and the subspecies is elevated to species rank
S. annulipes
Simon, 1907
n
. stat.
Scytodes bertheloti
is a
species inquirenda
from the Canary Islands.
Scytodes annulipes
appears to have a peculiar distribution pattern (
Fig. 33
). It is the dominant
Scytodes
species in
Tunisia
and occurs also in the neighbouring part of
Algeria
, reaching even the Hoggar and Tassili mountains in the extreme south. It was also cited several times from
Libya
and these citations are probably correct. It is absent from
Morocco
. In the literature, the species was further cited from
Spain
(
Melic 1994
),
Israel
(
Simon 1892
),
Malta
(
Baldacchino
et al
. 1993
),
Turkmenistan
(
Dunin 1992
) and the
Seychelles
(
Saaristo 1997
,
2010
), but these should all be verified.
Saaristo (1997)
presents drawings of “
Scytodes bertheloti
” from the
Seychelles
. The figure of the male palp corresponds to our species, but in the female, the scutula are separated by twice their diameter, while they are separated by only one diameter in our material.