Arachnology (2017) 17 (6), 317–322 317 Further spider records from the Republic of the
Sudan Manal Siyam
Sudan Natural History Museum,
Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, Aljamaa avenue – P.O. Box 321,
Republic of Sudan
Jason A. Dunlop
Museum für Naturkunde,
Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43,
D-10115 Berlin, Germany email: jason.dunlop@mfn-berlin.de
Peter Jäger
Senckenberg Research Institute, Senckenberganlage 25,
D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Abstract
The present work offers records of six species of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from three localities in the eastern part of the Republic of the Sudan. Three represent new species records for the country. Artema kochi (Kulczyński, 1901) (Pholcidae) was collected in New Halfa in Kassala State. Pardosa observans (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876) (Lycosidae) was found in the Dinder National Park in Sennar State, while Pterotricha dalmasi (Fage, 1929) (Gnaphosidae) was recorded from Toker and Khalig Dongnab in Red Sea State. Additionally, the previously recorded species, Eusparassus walckenaeri (Audouin, 1826) (Sparassidae) is recorded for the first time from the Dinder National Park in Sennar state, and Langona alfensis (Heciak
& Prószyński, 1983) and Menemerus fagei (Berland & Millot, 1941) (both Salticidae) are reported for the first time from New Halfa in Kassala State.
Keywords: Araneae • distribution • East Africa • faunistics
Introduction
Distribution records for spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in the East African Republic of the Sudan remain at a largely preliminary stage. A literature-based survey was provided by Dunlop & Siyam (2014), further emended by Siyam, Dunlop & El-Hennawy (2015) who added several new records to yield a total of 119 spider species. Clearly, for a tropical country of this size with a wide range of habitats this can only be a fraction of the total Sudanese spider biodi- versity. Based on further investigations, with a focus on the eastern states, we can add here three new species records;
one each from the families Pholcidae, Lycosidae and Gnaphosidae. We also provide three new locality records for one species of Sparassidae and two species of Salticidae previously recorded in other Sudanese states. These new records bring the total spider species count for the Republic of the Sudan to 122.
Material and methods Collection and localities
Specimens documented here were collected from four localities in three states, all in the eastern part of the Republic of the Sudan. Material was collected during summer (April–
June) and autumn (August–October) in the years 2011 to 2014. Dates for individual specimens are given below. At each site ground spiders were collected using pitfall traps.
Web-builders were largely collected by hand.
From Red Sea State, we sampled two sites. The first was Toker (18°42.5986′N 37°72.7497′E, 22 m a.s.l.), where the Toker delta has some of the most fertile soils in Sudan. The second was Khalig Dongonab (21°08.33′N 37°13.33′E). It belongs to the Dongonab Bay National Park which has been declared a marine protected area for Sudan. This National Park lies 125 km north of Port Sudan and covers 60 km of coastline and a shallow bay with a wide diversity of marine and coastal habitats.
From Kassala State, we sampled from New Halfa (15°31.667′N 35°6′E, 351 m a.s.l.). New Halfa has rela- tively fertile soil and consists of highly uniform alluvial clay with heavily textured vertisols that swell when wet and crack when dry. Spiders were collected from a house, a reservoir farm and a Moringa farm in village number 22.
The final sampling site was the so-called ‘crocodile lake’
in Khor galago in the Dinder National Park (12°39′3.81″N 35°1′8.12″E, 467 m a.s.l.). The Dinder National Park is a significant source of data for the spider fauna in that it transverses the Sudano–Sahelian and the Ethiopian ecolog- ical zones. The park as a whole crosses the boundaries of three states, Sennar, El-Gedaref, and Blue Nile State, but the specific locality accessed in this study can be assigned to Sennar State.
Documentation
As in our previous study (Siyam, Dunlop & El Hennawy 2015), specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol and deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (ZMB) and the Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt (SMF). Initial identification to family level drew principally on Dippe- naar-Schoeman & Jocqué (1997), supplemented by the specialist literature for individual genera and species. Speci- mens were photographed using a Leica Z16 Microsystem running the software Leica Application Suite. Image stacks were combined using Helicon Focus and digitally cleaned and assembled using Adobe Photoshop CS5. Some speci- mens were also prepared for scanning electron micrography (SEM). SEMs were made using a Zeiss Evo Ls 10, also at the ZMB. Material was critical point dried using a Leica Cpd 030 drier and sputter-coated with gold/platinum using a Quarum Technologies SC7640 device.
two dissimilar parts: external part like a vesicle, internal part produced into a long apophysis; bulb with small alve- olus, globose or oval in shape. Female lacks an epigyne but has swollen, elongated and sclerotized area on underside of abdomen.
Remarks: The natural distribution of Artema Walckenaer, 1837 ranges from North Africa to Central Asia (Aharon, Huber & Gavish-Regev in press). The genus includes some of the largest pholcid spiders. So far, only the synanthropic A. atlanta Walckenaer, 1837 has been recorded from East Africa (Huber & Warui 2012). The species composition of Artema is complicated by, for example, much unpublished material in existing museum collections as well as some regions being only poorly sampled. A. atlanta has been a particular source of confusion, which is mirrored in the long list of synonyms, misidentifications, and erroneous Family Pholcidae C. L. Koch, 1850
Artema Walckenaer, 1837
Artema kochi Kulczyński, 1901 (Figs. 1–3)
Material examined: 1♂, 2♀, several juveniles, ZMB 48707, Republic of the Sudan, Kassala State, New Halfa, village 22, from a house (15°31.667′N 35º6′E, 351 m a.s.l.), leg. M. Siyam, 05 April 2012, 26 June 2013, 10 August 2014, det. M. Siyam & B. Huber.
Description: Male/female body of medium size (length c.
5 mm), carapace pale cream, abdomen round to oval, dark grey with black spots, clothed with few layers of fine setae.
Male pedipalp large and complex, patella very small, tibia large and swollen, either oval or globose; tarsi divided into
Figs. 1–6: New spider species country records for the Republic of Sudan. 1–3 Artema kochi Kulczyński, 1901 (Pholcidae), 4–6 Pardosa observans O. Pick- ard-Cambridge, 1876 (Lycosidae). 1 body in dorsal view; 2 SEM of male pedipalps, ventral view; 3 same, lateral view; 4 body in dorsal view;
5 SEM of male pedipalps, ventral view; 6 same, lateral view. Scale bars = 2 mm.
M. Sayam, J. A. Dunlop & P. Jäger 319 Description: Male/female medium sized (body length c. 5 mm), carapace pale brown, abdomen oval and grey- ish-brown covered with dense setae, cluster of curved setae present on anterior edge. Male embolus with long filamen- tary portion; median apophysis with apical hook carried on broad stem; brown nearly oblong tibial apophysis ends with large, slightly bent tip. Female epigyne black, thickly scle- rotised and with small anterior depression. For a detailed description see Levy (1995).
Remarks: Species of Pterotricha are known throughout the Old World, primarily from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Pterotricha dalmasi closely resem- bles P. conspersa (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872), but can be separated by the larger eyes and more precisely by the form of the male palpal sclerites and tibial apophysis and by the shape of the female epigyne. P. dalmasi was previ- ously known from Algeria, Egypt, Israel and Jordan, and was recently recorded by El-Hennawy (2014) from Saudi Arabia, too. Its present discovery across the Red Sea in eastern Sudan is thus unsurprising and the specimens from Toker and Khalig Dongnab (both Red Sea State) represent a new country record for the Republic of the Sudan.
Family Sparassidae Bertkau, 1872 Eusparassus Simon, 1903
Eusparassus walckenaeri (Audouin, 1826) (Figs. 10–12) Material examined: 3♂, 1♀; SMF 65248, 65261, Republic of the Sudan, Sennar State, Dinder National Park, Khor Galago, cooling circle (12°39′3.81″N 35°1′8.12″E, 467 m a.s.l.), leg. M. Siyam. 08 April 2013. det. M. Siyam
& P. Jäger.
Description: Male/female body medium sized to large (length males 18.9–19.5 mm, female 21.4), carapace brown, abdomen oval, often with dark, median, heart-shaped mark;
clothed with dense layer of fine setae. Males are distinctly darker than the female. For a detailed description see Moradmand (2013).
Remarks: Species identification in the walckenaeri species group is difficult. Moradmand, Schönhofer & Jäger (2014) showed, by molecular results that, for example, E. walckenaeri and E. laevatus (another possible identity for our material) are two distinct species. We relied in the present case mainly on the shape of the median septum, which is considerably smaller in E. laevatus (Simon, 1897). Males are not easy to distinguish (Moradmand, pers.
comm.), but those discovered here in the Dinder National Park are considered conspecific with the female due to their size. Eusparassus walckenaeri is the only hitherto recorded species in the Republic of the Sudan and is known from Khartoum (Simon 1907), Omdurman (Reimoser 1927) and Port-Sudan (Moradmand, Schönhofer & Jäger 2013). The present record of Eusparassus walckenaeri in the Dinder National Park (Sennar State) is thus a new state record for Sudan. This species has also been recorded from nearby countries/regions such as Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula.
synonymizations. As case in point is A. kochi Kulczyński, 1901, which is widely regarded as a junior synonym of A. atlanta, but will be revalidated by Aharon, Huber &
Gavish-Regev (in press). We confirm here the discovery of A. kochi at New Halfa (Kassala State), which represents a new species record for the Republic of the Sudan. Artema atlanta has also been recorded from several Sudanese local- ities (Reimoser 1927).
Family Lycosidae Sundevall, 1833 Pardosa C. L. Koch, 1847
Pardosa observans O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 (Figs.
4–6)
Material examined. 1♂; ZMB 48788a; pedipalp as an SEM preparation (48788b), Republic of the Sudan, Sennar State, Dinder National Park, Khor Galago, crocodile lake (12°39′3.81″N 35°1′8.12″E, 467 m a.s.l.), leg. M. Siyam. 06 April 2013, det. A. Russell-Smith.
Description of male: Body medium sized (length c. 16 mm), body colour brown with yellow patterning on carapace and abdomen, yellow setae covering the eye area. Median apophysis of male pedipalp short, stout, obtusely pointed, with a slightly pointed spur at its base nearly as long as the process itself, with which it forms by its orientation a very obtuse angle. Terminal apophysis present and five spines occupying distal cymbium. For a detailed description see Pickard-Cambridge (1876).
Remarks: Pardosa C. L. Koch, 1847 includes many, often variable, species some of which are extremely widely distributed across East Africa. Pardosa observans O. Pick- ard-Cambridge, 1876, which was originally described under Lycosa Latreille, 1804, may be closely related to Pardosa inopina (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876), but is somewhat smaller and its colouration is generally less distinct. The present discovery of Pardosa observans in the Dinder National Park (Sennar State) represents a new species record for the Republic of the Sudan. Previous records of this species were restricted to Egypt, Morocco and Libya (as “Italian Cyrenaica”) (e.g. Capporiaco 1936). Note that Pardosa injucunda O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 has also been recorded from Sennar State (Reimoser 1927).
Family Gnaphosidae Pocock, 1898 Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903
Pterotricha dalmasi Fage, 1929 (Figs. 7–9)
Material examined: 3♂; two in alcohol (ZMB 48789a), one as an SEM preparation (48789b), Republic of the Sudan, Red Sea State, Toker (15°31.667′N 35°6′E, 351 m a.s.l.), leg. M. Siyam, 09 October 2011, det. M. Siyam &
M. Chatzaki. 1♀; ZMB 48790 as an SEM preparation only, Republic of the Sudan, Red Sea State, Khlalig Dongnab (21°08.33′N 37°13.33′E), leg. E. El-Faki, 19 May 2013, det.
M. Siyam & M. Chatzaki.
M. Siyam, 23/26 June 2013 and 11 August 2014, det. G.
Azarkina.
Description: Male body small (length c. 6 mm); carapace dark brown with lateral white setae forming longitudinal bands from eyes through thorax down to hind margin, eye field covered with dense reddish setae. Abdomen short, tapering to a point posteriorly with three whitish bands separating three brown bands. Male bulbus long, filling major part of cymbium, embolus a short coil and mostly concealed, base with conspicuous protuberance, tibial Family Salticidae Blackwall, 1841
Langona Simon, 1901
Langona alfensis Hęciak & Prószyński, 1983
Material examined: 2♂, 3♀, 1 juv., ZMB 48791a (one
♂ as an SEM preparation 48791b), Republic of the Sudan, Kassala State, New Halfa, village 22, Reservoir farm &
Moringa Forest (15°31.667′N 35°6′E, 351 m a.s.l.), leg.
Figs. 7–12: New spider species country and state records for the Republic of Sudan. 7–9 Pterotricha dalmasi Fage, 1929 (Gnaphosidae), 10–12 Eusparassus walckenaeri (Audouin, 1826) (Sparassidae). 7 body in dorsal view; 8 SEM of male pedipalps, ventral view; 9 same, semi-lateral view; 10 body in dorsal view; 11 photograph of male pedipalps, ventral view; 12 same, lateral view. Scale bars = 2 mm (7), 5 mm (10).
M. Sayam, J. A. Dunlop & P. Jäger 321
(Northern State). This renders the present discovery of the species in New Halfa (Kassala State) a new state record.
L. alfensis has also been found in Ethiopia (Wesołowska &
Tomasiewicz 2008).
Menemerus Simon, 1868
Menemerus fagei Berland & Millot, 1941
Material examined: 2♀: ZMB (both as SEM prepara- tions), the Republic of the Sudan, Kassala State, New Halfa, village 22, Reservoir farm (15°31.667′N 35°6′E, 351 m apophysis short and pointed. For a detailed description see
Hęciak & Prószyński (1983).
Remarks: The genus Langona Simon, 1901 contains a group of poorly known, specialized species of jumping spider, closely related to Aelurillus Simon 1884 and Phlegra Simon 1876. Langona forms a southern Old World group, which overlaps in its distribution with Aelurillus in North Africa, the Near East and Central Asia. The type species of the genus, Langona redii (Savigny & Audouin, 1825), is known from Egypt and the south-eastern Mediterranean.
L. alfensis Hęciak & Prószyński, 1983 appears to be closely related to L. redii, but exhibits slight differences in the male pedipalp. Hęciak & Prószyński (1983) previously recorded L. alfensis from the Republic of the Sudan at Wadi Halfa
Figs. 13–17: New jumping spider species records (state and locality respectively) for the Republic of the Sudan. 13–15 Langona alfensis Hęciak & Prószyńs- ki, 1983 (Salticidae), 16–17 Menemerus fagei Berland & Millot, 1941. 13 body in dorsal view; 14 SEM of male pedipalps, ventral view;
15 same, lateral view; 16 body in dorsal view; 17 SEM of female epigyne, ventral view. Scale bars = 2 mm.
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a.s.l.), leg. M. Siyam, 05 April 2012, 23 June 2013, det. M.
Siyam & G. Azarkina.
Description of female: Body small (length c. 6 mm), cara- pace dark brown with yellow setae covering eye region and central part of carapace, white setae forming narrow stripes along lateral margins of carapace, abdomen covered with dense yellowish brown setae. Abdomen rather elongate and slender, light brown with yellowish pattern. Female epigyne large with two oval depressions, strongly sclerotized and partially plugged with a waxy secretion. For a detailed description see Wesołowska (1999).
Remarks: Menemerus Simon, 1868 was erected for M. heydenii Simon, 1868, which later turned out to be a junior synonym of M. semilimbatus (Hahn, 1827).
Wesołowska (1999) previously recorded Menemerus fagei Berland & Millot, 1941 from the Republic of the Sudan in the White Nile State, Kassala, and additionally from Khartoum. This renders the present discovery of the species at New Halfa as a new locality record within Sudan, and the second occurrence from Kassala State. This species occurs from West Africa through to the Arabian Penninsula (Yemen) and up into Malta.
Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to Tony Russell-Smith, Majid Moradmand, Maria Chatzaki and Galina Azarkina who assisted with the identification of some species, and espe- cially Bernhard Huber for help with the pholcids and making a pre-publication version of his Artema revision available. MS’s visit to Berlin was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
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