Serket (2010) vol. 12(1): 23-31. Hersiliidae of Sudan (Araneida: Hersiliidae) Hisham K. El-Hennawy 41, El-Manteqa El-Rabia St., Heliopolis, Cairo 1 1341, Egypt E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Two species of two genera of family Hersiliidae are recorded from Sudan, i.e., Hersilia caudata Savigny, 1825 and Hersiliola eltigani sp.n. It is the first record ofgenus Hersiliola in Sudan. A distribution map ofthe two species in Sudan is presented. Keywords: Hersilia caudata, Hersiliola eltigani, Hersiliidae, Spiders, Sudan. Introduction Family Hersiliidae Thorell, 1870 is one ofthe twenty families of spiders recorded from Sudan. It includes 168 species, of 15 genera, among 41253 spider species all over the world (Platnick, 2010; Marusik, et al, 2010) (Table 1). Only one hersiliid species is already recorded from Sudan, i.e. Hersilia caudata Savigny, 1825. Benoit (1967) recorded Hersilia caudata and described a new species from Sudan {Hersilia hirtiventris = H. caudata). Foord (2005) discussed the systematics and distribution of the Hersiliidae of the Afrotropical region (Foord «fe Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2006). H. caudata is recorded from three localities in Sudan (Foord, 2005). On 6 August 2008, one juvenile Hersilia spider was found among plants in the campus of Shendi University, 16°40'39.7"N, 33°25'17.9"E, Alt. 367m. Four Hersiliola specimens, 1$, 2sS, Ij, were collected from Sudan. They were found under stones at Kordufan Mountain's versant, 13°04'25.9"N, 30°20'51.3"E, Alt. 606m, on 30 July 2008. One subadult male was kept alive and reared to moult on 17-18 August 2008 to be adult. It was preserved on 19 August 2008. In this region, I saw a hare, a pair ofbirds among Acacia trees, plenty ofbutterflies, and a limbless lizard (Malaga is its vernacular name there). There were several kinds of insects, i.e., wasps, beetles, lepidopteran larvae, hemipteran and neuropteran nymphs, in addition to chilopods. Compsohuthus scorpions, Biton and Galeodes sun-spiders (solpugids), and spiders of nine families. The distribution ofthe two hersiliid species ofSudan is plotted on a map. Abbreviations used: C = cephalothorax; Et = tip of embolus; L = length; Te = tegular W apophysis; TL = total length; = width. All measurements are in millimetres. Table 1. Genera ofHersiliidae, their geographic range and number ofdescribed species. South Mediterranean Africa Asia Australia America Iviraiva [2] Tama [1] Prima [1] Deltshevia [2] Tamopsis [50] Yabisi Tyrotama Duninia [2] [8] [2] Ypypuera [3] Ovtsharenkoia [l] Promurricia [1] Hersilia [72] Hersiliola [10] Murricia [4] Neotama [9] = number ofspecies [] Systematics Family Hersiliidae Thorell, 1870 "Long-spinnered spiders" Diagnosis: Small to medium sized (5-10 mm) araneomorph spiders; ecribellate; entelegyne; legs with three tarsal claws; carapace ovoid, flattened, with eight eyes on a large tubercle; posterior spinnerets long and slender with apical segment strongly & tapering (Jocque Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2006). Distribution: In the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. Lifestyle: Hersiliids have diverse lifestyles, ranging from wandering tree-trunk-dwellers [e.g. Hersilia] to ground-dwelling web-builders [e.g. Hersiliola]. The hunters run around their prey while producing a band ofsilk to enswathe them. The webs on the ground are & very peculiar curtains hanging under rocks and enclosing pebbles (Jocque Dippenaar- Schoeman, 2006). Key to the genera ofHersiliidae recorded from Sudan (Adopted from Foord, 2005) 1. Metatarsi biarticulate in legs I, II, and IV; leg I longest; leg 111 about 0.3 times leg 1. Chelicerae armed; posterior lateral spinnerets > carapace width; thoracic region of carapace dorso-ventrally flattened Hersilia -. Metatarsi uniarticulate; leg IV (or II) longest; leg III > 0.5 times leg I. Chelicerae unarmed; posterior lateral spinnerets < carapace width; thoracic region of carapace sloping Hersiliola Genus Hersilia Savigny, 1825 There are 72 species of genus Hersilia recorded from Africa, Yemen, Socotra, Asia, and Australia (Platnick, 2010); 28 species of them are African. Savigny described genus Hersilia and Hersilia caudata from Egypt in a work accomplished by Audouin (1825) [El-Hennawy, 2000]. Hersilia caudata is recorded from Cape Verde Island, West Africa to China (Platnick, 2010). 24 Hersilia caudata Savigny, 1825 Figs. 1-4. H. c. Audouin, 1825: 115, pi. l,f. 8 (?). H. c. Audouin, 1827: 318,pl. l,f. 8 (?). H. c. O. P.-Cambridge, 1876: 560-562, pi. 58, f. 6 G). K diversa O. P.-Cambridge, 1876: 561 G)- H. hirtivenths Benoit, 1967: 23, f. 6-7 (9). H. c. Benoit, 1967: 34, f. 37, 40, 44 (6^?). & H. c. Rheims, Brescovit van Harten, 2004: 336-340, f. 1-3, 7-15 (6^?). H. c. Foord, 2005: 81-84, f. 9, 26b, 33 {S^). & H. c. Foord Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2006: 59, f. 132-138, 200 (6^$). World Distribution: Middle East (Egypt, Palestine-Israel), Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo), Asia (Yemen, Socotra, China?), and Australia. Distribution in Sudan (Fig. 4): - Kawa (13°43'N, 32°30'E), 200 km south ofKhartoum, 1$, 2.xii.l961, J.L. Cloudsley- MRAC Thompson, 120872 [MRAC = Musee Royal de I'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium] MRAC - Reuk (10°45'N, 32°50'E), 1 4.xii.1961, J.L. Cloudsley-Thompson, 120833 MRAC - Bahr-el-Ghazal, Rumbek (6°47'N, 29°40'E), 1 juv. male, ll.iii.l964, G. Lewis, 126486 - Shendi (16°40'39.7"N, 33°25'17.9"E, Alt. 367m), 1 juv., 6.viii.2008, among plants in the campus ofShendi University. Description. [Redescribed in detail by Foord (2005)] O. P.-Cambridge (1876: 561-562) described Hersilia caudata and proposed a new name to his immature specimens of Cairo. He said: "The following description of the examples I met with may perhaps call the attention of araneologists to the differences noted; and possibly the true H. caudata may eventually prove to be a distinct species, in which case I would propose for that now described the name Hersilia diversa. The length ofthe largest immature female captured is rather over VA lines [= 7.4 mm]. The colour of the cephalothorax is a deep blackish brown, rather the palest along the middle line, on the hinder slope, and a little above the lateral margins; the upper part of the caput is black, with a short brightish orange-yellow longitudinal streak on the hinder part between the eyes ofthe hind central pair. The clypeus (which equals in height two thirds ofthat ofthe facial space) is orange-yellow above and dull yellow on its lower part, the middle of which has a short longitudinal white streak with a blackish patch on each side of it. This arrangement of colours gives a very distinct and diversified appearance to the "facies," and appears to be pretty well defined in all the examples met with (vide fig. 6 Z)). The legs are ofa dull yellowish hue, marked and broadly annulated with yellow and blackish-brown; these markings form a broken longitudinal line of deepish black- brown on the fore sides ofthe femoral joints. The palpi are similar to the legs in colour, and marked with black-brown on their upper or fore sides. The abdomen is of a dull yellowish brown above, thickly punctuated with pale yellowish points mixed with a few blackish spots here and there, chiefly near the cephalothorax, the lateral margins of the upperside of the abdomen are very distinctly defined by the inner edge of the black markings on the sides; this well-defined edge is denticulate or strongly crenellated; along the middle line ofthe fore half is a strong and very distinct black longitudinal marking, denticulate or irregularly jagged on its edges; 25 this marking is broadest near its middle, and comes to a blunt point about two thirds of the distance from the cephalothorax to the spinners, and is followed by some broken angular bars, or chevrons, which decrease in length towards the hinder extremity of the abdomen, in addition to the above markings, there are four pale transverse wavy lines, which cross the whole of the upperside of the abdomen, the two foremost, however, being interrupted by the longitudinal black marking; the sides ofthe abdomen are marked, but not regularly, with blackish brown spots and small markings, some ofthem assuming an oblique direction; but none of the lateral markings extend far down towards the underside, which is (as are also the sternum, maxillae, and labium) of a plain yellowish hue devoid of markings. The long spinners of the superior pair are dull yellow faintly marked or annulated with yellowish brown, or sometimes with brownish black in fact 1 saw, and captured, only females, and all those immature." A B Fig. Hersilia caudata Savigny, 1825 $. 1 . A. Drawing by Savigny in Audouin (1825), pi. 1, fig. 8, near Cairo. B. Photograph, Sohag, Upper Egypt. Fig. 2. Hersilia caudata (?) immature, Shendi. Habitus, postero-dorsal view. 26 A Fig. 3. Hersilia caudata: Male, left palp: A. ventral view, B. prolateral view. Female: F. epigyne, ventral view, G. vulvae, dorsal view. After Foord (2005, Chapter 2, Figure 9) Fig. 4. Distribution map ofHersilia and Hersiliola species ofSudan. = Shendi (16°40'39.7"N, 33°25'17.9"E) 1 2 = Kawa (13°43'N, 32°30'E), 200 km south ofKhartoum 3 = Reuk(10°45'N, 32°50'E) 4 = Bahr-el-Ghazal, Rumbek (06°47'N, 29°40'E) 5 = Kordufan Mountain (13°04'25.9"N, 30°20'51.3"E) • = Hersilia caudata, = Hersiliola eltigani sp. n. 27 Genus Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 There are 10 species of genus Hersiliola recorded from Mediterranean countries, Asia (Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China), and Africa (Mali, Nigeria, Cape Verde Is.) (Platnick, 2010; Marusik, et ai, 2010). & Diagnosis. [Modified after Marusik Fet (2009)] Hersiliola can be easily distinguished from other hersiliid genera by short spinnerets (shorter than abdomen length) and the shape of copulatory organs: a digitate cymbium; flattened bulbus of the male palp [= discoid tegulum]; a small, hook-like, median tegular apophysis perpendicular to the axis ofthe palp; a filiform, elongate, spirally coiled embolus; elongate insemination ducts coiled around fertilization ducts and uncoiled upper loop; small [relatively smaller] seminal receptacles. [Redescribed in detail by Foord and Dippenaar-Schoeman (2005)] Figs. 5-9. Hersiliola eltigani sp.n. 5-6. Habitus, dorsal view. 5. Male, alive. 6. Juvenile. 7-9. Female. 7-8. Dorsal view. 7. Carapace. 8. Abdomen. 9. Ventral view. 28 Hersiliola eltigani sp.n. Figs. 4, 5-14. & H. macullulafa Foord Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2005: 259-261, f. 2A-2E (c^^ only, misidentified). Material examined: Holotype (sS was kept alive and reared to moult on 17-18 August 2008 to be adult), Paratypes 1$, \sS, Ij, under stones, on 30 July 2008, Kordufan Mountain's versant (13°04'25.9"N, 30°20'51.3"E, Alt. 606m), deposited in the Arachnid Collection ofEgypt (ACE 20080730.1-4). Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honour of Prof. Dr. El-Tigani M. H. Allam, El-Khartoum, Sudan, who invited me to visit Sudan, to discover this new species. Diagnosis. The male ofHersiliola eltigani sp.n. is most similar to Hersiliola macuUulata (Dufour, 1831), from which it can be distinguished by the shape ofthe tegular apophysis which is sharply pointed and the position of the embolic base at about 4 o'clock. The female of H. eltigani sp.n. differs by an epigynum with a septum thinner than height of epigynal median plate. Description Colouration: Male: carapace pale yellowish brown, abdomen pale reddish brown (Fig. 5); Female: carapace reddish brown, abdomen more brownish (Figs. 7-8); Juvenile: carapace pale yellowish brown, lighter than male, abdomen lighter than carapace (Fig. 6). Carapace outer margin black. Both carapace and abdomen mottled with grey-brown patches. Abdomen with dorsal rhomboidal pattern. No mottling beneath (Fig. 9). Legs with wide annulations, faint in female andjuvenile, very dark in male. W Male (Holotype). TL 3.50; Cephalothorax: L 1.59, 1.75 (CL/CW 0.91); Sternum L W 0.79; Abdomen: L 1.91, 1.48. Legs measurements: Table (2). Relative length oflegs 85 91 52 100. Leg formula IV-II-I-III. : : : Table 2: S, Legs measurements (mm). Leg Femur Patella Tibia Metatarsus Tarsus Total length I 2.33 0.74 1.91 2.28 1.17 8.43 II 2.38 0.69 2.28 2.54 1.11 9.00 III 1.48 0.53 1.17 1.32 0.69 5.19 IV 2.65 0.58 2.60 3.07 1.01 9.91 Pedipalp: cymbium L 1.06, tegulum diameter 0.53; embolus with about 1.5 coils; embolic base at about 4 o'clock; tegular apophysis sharply pointed; tip ofcymbium is shorter than the diameter ofthe tegulum (Figs. 10-12). W Female (Paratype). TL 3.97; Cephalothorax: L 1.59, 1.64 (CL/CW 0.97); Sternum L W 0.79; Abdomen: L 2.38, 1.85. Legs measurements: Table (3). Relative length oflegs 98 104 57 100. Leg formula IMV-I-III. : : : Table 3: $, Legs measurements (mm). Leg Femur Patella Tibia Metatarsus Tarsus Total length I 2.17 0.58 1.70 1.85 0.95 7.25 II 2.23 0.64 1.85 2.07 0.95 7.74 III 1.43 0.42 0.64 1.11 0.64 4.24 IV 2.12 0.53 2.07 2.07 0.64 7.43 29 10 11 12 Figs. 10-12. Hersiliola eltigani sp.n. Male palp. 10. Retrolateral view. 11. Ventral view. 12. Prolateral view. Scale = 0.5 mm. Epigynum with a distinct median plate and windows; septum thinner than median plate height ofepigynal plate; insemination duct with almost five coils around fertilization duct (Figs. 13-14). World Distribution: Sudan and Burkina Faso. Distribution in Sudan (Fig. 4): Kordufan Mountain's versant (13°04'25.9"N, 30°20'51.3"E, Alt. 606m). Comment. Foord & Dippenaar-Schoeman (2005) described Hersiliola macullulata (Dufour. 1831) depending on males from Burkina Faso (MRAC 172.521, 207.790, 207.791). Those male specimens were misidentified. They are similar to the Sudanese male described here as Hersiliola eltigani sp. n. The female of H. eltigani is different from both H. macullulata and H. versicolor (Blackwall, 1865) ofCape Verde Islands. 30 Acknowledgments I am grateful to Prof. Dr. El-Tigani M. H. Allam, the director of the Natural History Museum, University of Khartoum, who invited me to visit Sudan (23 July - 10 August 2008). His generosity, his kind help and his wide scope of both culture and science are unforgettable. I am grateful too to Prof Dr. Mashaal A. Saleh, the dean of Faculty of Science, Kordufan University who made my visit to Kordufan possible and hosted me there. 1 am also grateful to Dr. Abd-El-Rahman El-Beshir the dean ofFaculty ofScience, Shendi University who made my visit to Shendi possible and hosted me there. My sincere thanks are due to my Sudanese friends and colleagues Dr. Omar (Shendi University), Fathy, Serr, Sara, Aasem and Mohammad Hasan who helped me much during my visit to Kordufan and Shendi. 1 am greatly indebted to my friend Prof. Dr. Yuri Marusik (Magadan, Russia) whose precious comments directed me to describe a new Hersilola. He sent me necessary literature too. His advices and the advice of my friend Prof. Dr. Victor Fet (Marshall USA) University, are appreciated. References Audouin, V. 1825. Explication sommaire des planches d'Arachnides de I'Egypte et de la Syrie, PublieesparJules-Cesar Savigny. in: Description de I'Egypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont ete faites en Egypte pendant I'expedition de I'armee fran9aise. Histoire Naturelle. Tome Premier 1809. Paris. 4e partie, pp. 99-186. Atlas: pis. 1-9 (Arachnides). Audouin, V. 1 827. Ibid. 2"" edition, vol. 22, pp. 291-430. Benoit, P.L.G. 1967. Revision des especes africaines du genre Hersilia Sav. et Aud. (Aran.- Hersiliidae). Revue Zool. Bot. afr., 76: 1-36. [Mot Seen] Cambridge, O.P.-. 1876. Catalogue ofa collection ofspiders made in Egypt, with descriptions of new species and characters ofa new genus. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1876: 541-630. El-Hennawy, H.K. 2000. The first landmark in the route ofEgyptian Arachnology "Explication : Sommairedes Planches d'Arachnides de I'Egypte et de la Syrie"(1825). Serket, 6(4): 1 15-128. Foord, S.H. 2005. A Revision of the Afrotropical species of Hersilia Audouin (Araneae: Hersiliidae). pp. 50-167, Chapter 2 In: Systematics of the Hersiliidae (Araneae) of the Afrotropical Region. PhD thesis, 237 pp., University of Pretoria. On line at http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02082006-l6 2 4/unrestricted/02chapter2.pdf 1 1 Foord, S.H. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. 2005. A revision of the Afrotropical species of Hersiliola Thorell and Tama Simon with the description of a new genus Tyrotama (Araneae: HevsWudao). African Entomology, 13(2): 255-279. Foord, S.H. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. 2006. A revision of the Afrotropical species of //e/'A77/(7 Audouin (Araneae: Hersiliidae). Zootaxa, 1347: 1-92. [Not Seen] Jocque, R. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. 2006. Spider Families ofthe World. Musee Royal de I'Afrique Central, Tervuren, 336 pp. Marusik, Y.M. &. Fet, V. 2009. A survey of east Palearctic Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae), with a description ofthree new genera. ZooKeys, 16: 75-1 14. Marusik, Y.M., Kunt, K.B. & Yagmur, E.A. 2010. A new species oi Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae) from Turkey. ZooKeys, 37: 27-34. Platnick, N.l. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 10.5. American Museum of Natural History, online at http://research.amnh.org/entomolog\'/spiders/catalog/index.html Rheims, C.A., Brescovit, A.D. & van Harten, A. 2004. Hersiliidae (Araneae) from Yemen, with description ofa new species ofHersilia Audouin, 826 from Socotra Island. FaunaofArabia, 20: 1 335-347. 31