Micropholcus khenifra Huber, Lecigne & Lips, 2024

Huber, Bernhard A. & Meng, Guanliang, 2024, Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae), ZooKeys 1213, pp. 95-182 : 95-182

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.3897/zookeys.1213.133178
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B8E6EE1A-023D-4B64-8D3A-C1843F0D8376
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13841476
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A1FA9AD3-2DCE-4303-B128-9966534808DE
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:A1FA9AD3-2DCE-4303-B128-9966534808DE
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Micropholcus khenifra Huber, Lecigne & Lips
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Micropholcus khenifra Huber, Lecigne & Lips sp. nov.

Figs 4 G View Figure 4 , 68 View Figure 68 , 69 View Figure 69 , 70 View Figure 70 , 71 View Figure 71

Type material.

Holotype. Morocco – Béni Mellal-Khénifra • ♂; Imi n’Ifri ; 31.724 ° N, 6.971 ° W; 1050 m a. s. l.; 26 Sep. 2018; B. A. Huber leg.; ZFMK Ar 24687 . GoogleMaps

Other material.

Morocco – Béni Mellal-Khénifra • 5 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Ar 24688 to 24689 GoogleMaps • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, in pure ethanol; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Mor 104 GoogleMaps • 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀; near Sidi Ben Daoud ; 32.5347 ° N, 6.1285 ° W; 700 m a. s. l.; 25 Sep. 2018; B. A. Huber leg.; ZFMK Ar 24690 to 24691 GoogleMaps • 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 2 juvs, in pure ethanol; same collection data as for preceding; ZFMK Mor 102 GoogleMaps • 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 1 juv.; W of El Ksiba ; 32.560 ° N, 6.053 ° W – 32.562 ° N, 6.050 ° W; 950 m a. s. l.; 25 Sep. 2018; B. A. Huber leg.; ZFMK Ar 24692 to 24693 GoogleMaps • 1 ♀, 1 juv., in pure ethanol; same collection data as for preceding; ZFMK Mor 103 GoogleMaps • 1 ♀; Jbel Bou-Guergour , Ghar-el-Ghazi; 32.869 ° N, 5.689 ° W (?); 970 m a. s. l.; 26 May 2001; C. Ribera leg.; ZFMK Ar 24700 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis.

Easily distinguished from known congeners by whitish dorsal process of male palpal tarsus (asterisk in Fig. 69 C View Figure 69 ; absent in congeners), by large and prominent flat ventral process of procursus (arrowed in Fig. 69 C View Figure 69 ; much smaller or absent in congeners), by complex tip of procursus with distinctive dorsal spine (Fig. 69 A – C View Figure 69 ), by rounded uncus (Fig. 69 E, F View Figure 69 ; similar only in M. agadir ), by very small appendix (larger and more complex in Moroccan congeners), by long prominent embolus (Fig. 69 E, F View Figure 69 ; in Moroccan congeners shorter and in prolateral view largely hidden behind uncus and appendix), by pair of dark internal structures visible at anterior margin of epigynum (Fig. 71 A View Figure 71 ; absent in congeners), by distinctive m-shaped dorsal arc in female internal genitalia (Fig. 71 C View Figure 71 ), and by very narrow (short) sclerotised band posteriorly on epigynum carrying epigynal ‘ knob’ (Fig. 71 A View Figure 71 ).

Description.

Male (holotype). Measurements. Total body length 3.9, carapace width 1.5. Distance PME - PME 205 µm; diameter PME 90 µm; distance PME - ALE 30 µm; distance AME - AME 20 µm; diameter AME 50 µm. Leg 1: 34.5 (8.7 + 0.6 + 9.0 + 14.4 + 1.8), tibia 2: 6.4, tibia 3: 4.0, tibia 4: 5.3; tibia 1 L / d: 75; diameters of leg femora (at half length) 0.14–0.15; of leg tibiae 0.12.

Colour (in ethanol). Prosoma and legs mostly ochre-yellow, carapace with brown median mark, ocular area and clypeus without darker pattern, sternum with brown margins; legs with slightly darkened patellae, anterior femora ventrally only very slightly darkened, tibia-metatarsus joints not darkened; abdomen monochromous pale grey.

Body. Habitus as in Fig. 4 G View Figure 4 . Ocular area raised (distinct in frontal view). Carapace without thoracic groove. Clypeus unmodified. Sternum wider than long (0.88 / 0.72), unmodified. Abdomen oval, approximately twice as long as wide.

Chelicerae. As in Fig. 70 A, B View Figure 70 ; with pair of strong distal frontal apophyses, each with two cone-shaped hairs; and two pairs of smaller proximal processes.

Palps. As in Fig. 68 View Figure 68 ; coxa unmodified; trochanter with ventral apophysis provided with terminal modified hair (Fig. 69 D View Figure 69 ); femur cylindrical, proximally with small retrolateral process and larger prolateral-ventral process; femur-patella joints shifted toward prolateral side; tibia very large relative to femur; tibia-tarsus joints not shifted to one side; tarsus with cone-shaped light dorsal process carrying tarsal organ. Procursus (Fig. 69 A – C View Figure 69 ) proximally with sclerotised prolateral ridge; proximal half with flat ventral process (arrowed in Fig. 69 C View Figure 69 ), distally divided into dorsal and ventral parts and complex hinged structure between them (mostly on prolateral side), with pointed process originating from membranous connection between dorsal part and hinged process. Genital bulb (Fig. 69 E, F View Figure 69 ) with strong proximal sclerite; putative appendix small; putative uncus flat with retrolateral process; and long, partly sclerotised embolus.

Legs. Without spines, without curved hairs, without sexually dimorphic short vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 9 %; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with> 30 pseudosegments, distally distinct.

Variation (male). Tibia 1 in 14 males (incl. holotype): 6.9–9.2 (mean 8.2). There was very slight variation in palpal structures among localities: in males from near Sidi Ben Daoud and from W of El Ksiba, the uncus was slightly rounder, the appendix slightly larger, and one small, pointed element of the dorsal part of the procursus (arrowed in Fig. 69 A View Figure 69 ) was absent. The number of modified hairs on the frontal cheliceral apophyses was two or three, and was sometimes asymmetrical (as in Fig. 70 A View Figure 70 ).

Female. In general very similar to male. Tibia 1 in 12 females: 7.1–8.4 (mean 7.7). Epigynum (Fig. 71 A View Figure 71 ) anterior plate mostly light, anteriorly with pair of dark internal structures variably visible in untreated specimens, posteriorly with narrow darker transversal band and median ‘ knob’; posterior epigynal plate short and very indistinct. Internal genitalia (Figs 70 C View Figure 70 , 71 B, C View Figure 71 ) with pair of small oval pore plates and distinctive ventral and dorsal anterior arches and sclerites.

Etymology.

The species name is derived from Béni Mellal-Khénifra, the region in Morocco where all available specimens were collected; noun in apposition.

Distribution.

Known from several localities in Morocco, all in Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region (Fig. 13 D View Figure 13 ).

Natural history.

At Imi N’ifri (Fig. 14 G View Figure 14 ) and west of Ksiba, the spiders were found in small cavities of rocks, on the undersides of very large boulders, and in small caverns at ground level. Near Sidi Ben Daoud, the spiders were found in a small cave from which a brook emerged. The spiders sat flat on the rock and appeared very unwilling to leave the spot upon disturbance. At all localities, M. khenifra sp. nov. was found in close proximity with Holocnemus reini .