Maghreba Huber 2022, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Huber, Bernhard A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Maghreba

description: Maghreba gen. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 948E7573-BBF2-435C-BB9B-BDE8DE507173
Figs 9–12, 163–350
Type species
Maghreba amezyan gen. et sp. nov.
Diagnosis
Males are easily distinguished from other representatives of the spotted-leg clade of Smeringopinae by numerous details of the palp (coxa with distinct retrolateral-ventral process, Fig. 205; femur with small dorsal apophysis, Fig. 205; procursus tip bent towards dorsal, Fig. 166; membranous transparent process accompanying ventral sclerite of procursus, Fig. 166; bulbal sclerite with deep retrolateral pocket, Fig. 169). Females are easily distinguished from Holocnemus reini (which occurs in the same geographic region) by the much shorter abdomen that is only weakly angular rather than pointed posteriorly (Figs 9–10, 195–202); females closely resemble certain representatives of Crossopriza (which shares at least parts of Algeria with Maghreba gen. nov.) and cannot be assigned with confidence to any of the two genera if not accompanied by males; usually the distance between the eye triads is larger in Maghreba gen. nov. than in Crossopriza (distance PME–PME usually> 1.1 × PME diameter in Maghreba gen. nov. vs <1.1 in Crossopriza).
Etymology
The genus name is derived from the Maghreb, the western part of North Africa and the Arab World; gender feminine.
Description
Male
BODY. Total body length ~3.0–4.5; carapace width ~1.2–1.7. Carapace with deep central pit and pair of shallow furrows diverging from posterior side of pit toward posterior rim (cf. Figs 305, 319); ocular area slightly raised, eye triads relatively far apart (distance PME–PME usually 1.1–1.5 × PME diameter, in the slightly troglomorphic M. kahfa gen. et sp. nov. 2.1), each secondary eye (especially PME) accompanied by indistinct elevation (“pseudo-eyes”; cf. Huber 2009a), PME oval, AME large (~60–105% of PME small diameter). Clypeus high, unmodified. Abdomen oval, dorsally posteriorly usually slightly angular (e.g., Figs 9, 196, 258). Male gonopore with 4–6 epiandrous spigots (sometimes asymmetric: 2+3; Figs 316, 320–321), ALS with only two spigots each: one large widened spigot and one pointed spigot (cf. Figs 317, 329); PMS with two spigots each; PLS without spigots.
COLOR. In general ochre-yellow to light brown. Carapace mostly pale, with darker median mark, without lateral marks (Figs 195–202); sternum light to dark brown, with darker radial marks. Legs without or with indistinct darker rings, with oval to short longitudinal line-shaped dark marks on femora and tibiae, sometimes also a few on metatarsi (Figs 188–189, 206–207). Abdomen usually with distinct dorsal and ventral patterns: dark heart-mark and further dark and whitish marks dorsally and laterally, ventral median band variably distinct.
CHELICERAE. Chelicerae with one large modified (cone-shaped) hair on each cheliceral apophysis (Figs 170, 306, 323); usually with fine stridulatory ridges (Figs 307, 324), distances between ridges in M. amezyan gen. et sp. nov. and M. aurouxi gen. nov. ~3.5 µm; with more distinct ridges in M. kahfa gen. et sp. nov., apparently without ridges in M. gharbija gen. et sp. nov.
PALPS. In general as in Figs 203–205; coxa with distinct retrolateral-ventral process; trochanter barely modified, slightly protruding ventrally; femur widened distally, dorsal line straight except for small dorsal apophysis, with proximal retrolateral process, without or with very indistinct transversal dark line on retrolateral side, with stridulatory pick (modified hair) on prolateral side; femur-patella joints shifted toward prolateral side (arrows # 3 in Fig. 203); tibia-tarsus joints shifted toward retrolateral side (arrows # 4 in Fig. 205); palpal tarsus without dorsal macrotrichia, palpal tarsal organ capsulate (Figs 311, 327); procursus dorsally with straight or weakly curved hairs; procursus (e.g., Figs 164–166, 309) with hairless prolateral process, without ventral ‘knee’, distally with ventral sclerite accompanied by membranous transparent to semitransparent process, procursus tip curved towards dorsal, with one or few transparent hair-like processes on retrolateral side (barely visible in light microscope); genital bulb (e.g., Figs 167– 169, 310) with basal sclerite (bs in Fig. 169) connecting to tarsus; basal sclerite sometimes with distinct dorsal (slightly retrolateral) apophysis (e.g., Fig. 212); distal (main) bulbal sclerite with strong dorsal process, variable number of ventral teeth, and large retrolateral pocket (arrow in Fig. 169); sperm duct opening in membranous area on prolateral side of distal bulbal sclerite (arrow in Fig. 310).
LEGS. Legs long and relatively thin, leg 1 length ~20–45, tibia 1 length ~6–12, tibia 2 longer than tibia 4 (~1.1–1.2 ×). Tibia 1 L/d usually ~50–65, 80 in the slightly troglomorphic M. kahfa gen. et sp. nov. Femur 1 usually thicker than other femora; femur 1 with one row of ventral spines (Fig. 206), rarely (in very small males) without spines; spines proximally gradually transforming into regular setae; spines never present on femur 2 or on tibia 1; legs without curved hairs; in most species with slightly higher than usual density of short vertical hairs prolaterally-dorsally on one or more tibiae; retrolateral trichobothrium in proximal position (at 2–4% of tibia length in tibia 1), prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae. Tarsal pseudosegments very indistinct except ~2–5 distally, proximally with indistinct irregular platelets rather than distinct rings. Tarsal organs of legs capsulate, with round or weakly undulating rim (Figs 313–315, 328).
Female
In general very similar to male; chelicerae with even less distinct and smaller stridulatory files or without stridulatory files (Figs 308, 325); legs slightly shorter than in male, without spines. Usually with pair of indistinct processes posteriorly on carapace (arrows in Figs 305, 319) acting against pair of poorly visible plates on abdomen. Epigynum usually consisting of large, simple anterior plate and short but wide posterior plate (e.g., Figs 175–178); anterior plate with pair of low pockets (pits) (Figs 318, 330), in some species with pair of variably distinct processes (e.g., Fig. 238); without bulging areas in front of anterior plate. Internal genitalia (e.g., Figs 179–181) with sclerotized arc that consists of dorsal and ventral parts (da and va in Fig. 179) and is variably visible in uncleared specimens; uterus externus sometimes with small median ventral structure (pouch or pocket?), sometimes visible as round structure in untreated specimens (e.g., Figs 178, 220); pore plates large, flat, widening towards median line, left and right plates usually clearly separated except in M. kahfa gen. et sp. nov. (Fig. 187); pores usually in groups rather than homogeneously distributed.
Distribution
Most records are from the Moroccan Atlas (Fig. 163), but the genus ranges into Algeria and may in fact be more diverse in the Algerian Atlas as well.A single male specimen from the Algerian Hoggar Mountains, Tamanrasset, In [Ain] Zbib (22.748° N, 5.575° E) deposited in CRB (shown in Fig. 163 but not formally described) suggests that the genus actually has a much wider distribution in NW Africa. The spiders have been found from sea level up to over 2000 m a.s.l.
Relationships
Together with Holocnemus, Stygopholcus, and Crossopriza, Maghreba gen. nov. is clearly a representative of the spotted-leg clade (Fig. 1) but beyond that relationships remain obscure. The sister-group relationship with Stygopholcus suggested by the cladistic analyses using equal character weights and successive character weighting is supported by a single homoplastic character and is thus unconvincing. Geographically, the genus is closer to Crossopriza with which it also shares a greater general similarity than with Stygopholcus. In fact, implied character weighting with conc =1 and conc = 2 suggested a trichotomy including Maghreba gen. nov., Holocnemus hispanicus, and Crossopriza. However, no synapomorphy has been found to support a sister-group relationship between Maghreba gen. nov. and Crossopriza, or between Maghreba gen. nov. and H. hispanicus.
Composition
The genus currently includes eight named species, all of which are treated below: seven new species plus M. aurouxi gen. nov. that is newly transferred from Holocnemus. In the examined collections, only
one further species was seen, represented by a single male specimen from Algeria deposited in CRB (see Distribution above). The palp of this species strongly resembles the Moroccan species described below; it is easily distinguished from all Moroccan species by the presence of two pairs of proximal processes on the male chelicerae; it further differs by a distinct subdistal dorsal process on the procursus and by strongly developed cheliceral stridulatory ridges.
Natural history
Different species seem to prefer different microhabitats: some appear restricted to caves (twilight area and slightly beyond), others occupy sheltered spaces among and under rocks and small cavities in the ground, and some live quite exposed among the leaves of palms and other objects close to the ground. Webs usually consist of a domed sheet and are often modified at the center to include a further bellshaped dome that is provided with silk puffs (Figs 11–12). At disturbance the spiders vibrate or run towards the back; whether this behavior is species-specific or not is unknown. For further details on individual species, see natural history sections below.
Identification key
1. Dorsally-directed tip of procursus short and wide (Fig. 245); distal bulbal sclerite ventrally with 3–4 large teeth and several tiny teeth (Figs 246, 248); epigynum triangular rather than semicircular (Fig. 251) .................................................................................. M. nkob gen. et sp. nov.
– Dorsally-directed tip of procursus long and slender (e.g., Figs 166, 210); distal bulbal sclerite ventrally either with two or with many (~14) large teeth (e.g., Figs 167, 211); epigynum semicircular or oval rather than triangular (e.g., Figs 178, 218) ....................................................................................... 2
2. Distal bulbal sclerite ventrally with ~14 large teeth (Fig. 211); epigynum relatively short and wide, posteriorly slightly indented, medially lighter than laterally, with dark internal structure visible anteriorly in untreated specimens (Figs 218–220) ..................................... M. saghro gen. et sp. nov.
– Distal bulbal sclerite ventrally with two large teeth; epigynum different ........................................ 3
3. Procursus tip with dark process between ventral sclerite and transparent process (Figs 267, 336); epigynum with pair of small processes and dorsal arc of internal female genitalia without pair of posterior processes ............................................................................................................................ 4
– Procursus tip without process between ventral sclerite and transparent process; female genitalia different (i.e., either epigynum without processes or dorsal arc of internal female genitalia with pair of posterior processes; e.g., Figs 181, 303) ...................................................................................... 5
4. Ventral teeth on distal bulbal sclerite long (Figs 270, 273); female genitalia as in Figs 276–280, 282–284 .................................................................................................. M. gharbija gen. et sp. nov.
– Ventral teeth on distal bulbal sclerite short (Figs 339, 342); female genitalia as in Figs 345–350 .... ................................................................................................................. M. djabalija gen. et sp. nov.
5. Dorsal process of distal bulbal sclerite only slightly longer than ventral part (Fig. 232); epigynum with pair of large whitish processes (Fig. 238) ....................................... M. stifadma gen. et sp. nov.
– Dorsal process of distal bulbal sclerite much longer than ventral part (Figs 167, 184, 295); epigynum with pair of small processes or without processes ............................................................................ 6
6. Slightly troglomorphic spider with reduced eye size (distance PME–PME = 2.1 × PME diameter) and very thin legs (male tibia 1 L/d 80); dorsal arc of internal female genitalia without or with very indistinct posterior processes (Figs 187, 194) ............................................ M. kahfa gen. et sp. nov.
– Eye size not reduced (distance PME–PME = 1.1–1.5 × PME diameter) and legs thicker (male tibia 1 L/d ~60–65); dorsal arc of internal female genitalia with small to distinct posterior processes (Figs 181, 303) .................................................................................................................................. 7
7. Large size (body size ~4.0, carapace width ~1.7), eye triads far apart (distance PME–PME = 1.5 × PME diameter); dorsal arc of internal female genitalia with small posterior processes (Fig. 181) .... ................................................................................................................. M. amezyan gen. et sp. nov.
– Smaller size (body size ~3.0, carapace width ~1.2), eye triads closer together (distance PME– PME = 1.1 × PME diameter); dorsal arc of internal female genitalia with distinct posterior processes (Fig. 303) ............................................................. M. aurouxi (Barrientos, 2019) gen. et comb. nov.
description: Published as part of Huber, Bernhard A., 2022, Revisions of Holocnemus and Crossopriza: the spotted-leg clade of Smeringopinae (Araneae, Pholcidae), pp. 1-241 in European Journal of Taxonomy 795 (1) on pages 54-59, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.795.1663, http://zenodo.org/record/6299150