Zodarion agricola Bouseksou & Abrous-Kherbouche & Bosmans & Beladjal 2021, new species
Creators: name: Bouseksou, Samira
name: Abrous-Kherbouche, Ourida
name: Bosmans, Robert
name: Beladjal, Lynda
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Zodariidae
Zodarion
Zodarion agricola

description: Zodarion agricola Bouseksou & Abrous new species
Figs 1–13
Type material. Holotype ♂, Algeria, Algiers, Oued Smar (36°42’29”N– 03°09’43”E), 24 m a.s.l, pitfalls in wheat and oilseed rape fields, 21.VII.2008, deposited in MNHN (AR16053).
Paratype ♀: idem, 21.VII.2008, deposited in MNHN (AR16054).
Other paratypes: idem, 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, 21.VII.2008, deposited in MNHN (AR16055).
Further material examined. Algiers: Oued Smar (36°42’29”N– 03°09’43”E), 25m, pitfalls in wheat and oilseed rape fields, II.2008 – I.2009, S. Bouseksou leg., 31♂♂ 38♀♀ (CSB-001) pitfalls in wheat field, VII.2012, further as preceding 1♂ (CSB-002); Birtouta, Tassala El Mardja, Technical Institute of Fruit Arboriculture (T.I.F.A.) (36°38′07″N- 02°56′49″E), 50 m, pitfalls in Prunus dulcis orchard, IV.2012, S. Bouseksou leg., 1♂ (CBS-003).
Bejaia: Melbou (36°38’23”N– 05°21’39”E), 300m, pitfalls in Olea europaea grove, 8.XII.2012 – 8.XI.2014, M. Outemzabet leg., 8♂♂ (COA-025).
Bouira: El Asnam (36°19’16”N– 04°00’50”E), 425m, pitfalls in wheat field, 3.VII.2011 – 8.VI.2013, L. Outemzabet leg., 7♂♂ 1♀ (COA-026). Ahl El Ksar (36°13’00”N– 04°07’00”E), 612 m, pitfalls in wheat field, 3.VII.2011 – 8.VI.2013, L. Outemzabet leg., 8♂♂ 1♀ (COA-027). Bechloul (36°18’47”N– 04°04’22”E), 425m, pitfalls in Olea europaea grove, 8.XII.2012 – 8.XI.2014, M. Outemzabet. leg., 148♂♂ 16♀♀ (COA-028). Taghzout (36°24’31”N– 03°57’34”E), 577m, pitfalls in Olea europaea grove, 5.XII.2012 – 8.XI.2014, M. Outemzabet leg., 89♂♂ 13♀♀ (COA-029).
Etymology. The species name is a noun in apposition and refers to agricultural fields where the species was exclusively collected.
Diagnosis. Both sexes of Zodarion agricola spec. nov. are easily recognized by the prosoma with contrasting coloration: dark cephalic and pale thoracic. Males are further diagnosed by the long retrolateral tibial apophysis with recurved, toothed terminal part, females by the rounded antero-median process of the epigyne. By the elongated tibial apophysis, the shape of the tegular apophysis in the male and the antero-median epigynal pit in the female, the species belongs to the Z. elegans group defined by Bosmans (1997).
Description. Male holoytype MNHN (AR16053).
Colour (Figs 1, 6): Cephalic part of carapace dark chocolate brown, thoracic part yellowish orange. Chelicerae brown, sternum and legs yellowish brown. Abdomen dorsally dark grey, ventrally paler, no line of setae before spinnerets.
Measurements: Total length 2.31 mm; carapace 1.39 mm long, 1.05 mm wide. Clypeus 0.17 high.Anterior eye row slightly procurved, posterior eye row strongly procurved in dorsal view. Eye sizes diameter and interdistances: AME 0.13, ALE 0.08, PME 0.09, PLE 0.09, AME-AME 0.09, AME-ALE 0.05, ALE-ALE 0.33, AME-PME 0.09, PME-PME 0.24, PME-PLE 0.08, PLE-PLE 0.48, ALE-PLE 0.03, MOQ 0.32 long, anterior width 0.41, posterior width 0.40. Legs:
Palp (Figs 2–5, 9, 10): Retrolateral tibial apophysis wide, strongly elongate, basal part nearly straight, much longer than wide, distal part recurved dorsally with small ventral and somewhat larger dorsal teeth (Figs 5, 10), terminally rounded; cymbium with one terminal and one subterminal spine; median apophysis hook-shaped with subrectangular basal branch, distal branch gradually tapered and strongly pointed; embolus oblique and straight, terminally strongly pointed, accompanied by a shorter and less pointed tooth.
Female paratype. MNHN (AR16054).
Colour: Idem as for the male
Measurements: Total length 3.53 mm; carapace 1.57 mm long, 1.22 mm wide. Clypeus height 0.20. Anterior eye row slightly procurved, posterior eye row strongly procurved in dorsal view. Eye sizes diameter and interdistances: AME 0.15, ALE 0.10, PME 0.10, PLE 0.08, AME-AME 0.09, AME-ALE 0.07, ALE-ALE 0.34, AME-PME 0.09, PME-PME 0.23, PME-PLE 0.08, PLE-PLE 0.52, ALE-PLE 0.04, MOQ 0.31 long, anterior width 0.37, posterior width 0.34. Legs:
Epigyne (Figs 7, 11): With postero-median incision, continuing into a large, central groove ending anteriorly into a sclerotized plate covering a pit.
Vulva (Figs 8, 12): Antero-median plate covering paired sacs; spermathecae small, widely separated by 4–5 times their diameter, each connected sub-basally to small membranous sac.
Other specimen: Total length, carapace length and width (mean, minimum–maximum) and leg length variation (minimum–maximum) are given for both sexes.
Males: Total length 2.73 (1.96–3.5 mm); carapace 1.33 (1.08–1.69 mm) long, 1.01 (0.74–1.33 mm) wide; legs:
Distribution. Central part of North Algeria, wilayas Algiers, Bouira and Bejaia. The species is present only in some Algerian agro-ecosystems where collections were made at regular intervals (Fig. 13).
Ecology. The species was mainly collected in agricultural habitats such as wheat fields and oilseed rape fields and has no preference for one or the other habitat; it is more abundant at the field edges (Bouseksou et al., 2015). The species is the dominant Zodarion in Olea europaea groves, an old but important Mediterranean ecosystem. Other species sampled were: Z. algiricum (Lucas, 1846), Z. kabylianum Denis, 1937 and Z. ludibundum Simon, 1914.
Males and females were collected from May to October, except for one male collected in March (Fig. 14). There is a peak in June and one in September, suggesting there are two generations per year.
description: Published as part of Bouseksou, Samira, Abrous-Kherbouche, Ourida, Bosmans, Robert & Beladjal, Lynda, 2021, Description of a new species of the genus Zodarion Walckenaer, 1826 (Araneae Zodariidae) from Algeria, pp. 594-600 in Zootaxa 4915 (4) on pages 595-598, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4915.4.10, http://zenodo.org/record/4461490