Cicileus derradji sp. nov., a new species from southern Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

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  Cicileus derradji sp. nov., a new species from southern Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Abstract A new scorpion species, Cicileus derradji sp. nov., is described from Tin Zaouatine District, In Guezzam Province, southern Algeria. The description is based on an adult male holotype, an adult female paratype and a juvenile specimen, and is supported by detailed morphological analyses, including colouration, morphometrics, carination patterns and trichobothrial arrangement. This discovery extends the known distribution of the genus Cicileus approximately 500 km southwestward within Algeria. With the addition of this species, the number of recognised species in the genus increases to six. The new species is compared with all previously known species of Cicileus , and detailed colour photographs, including images taken under ultraviolet illumination, are provided. Derradj, L., Aydın Yağmur, E., Benali, N., & Bikada, M. (2026). Cicileus derradji sp. nov., a new species from south...

Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya

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Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya

Abstract

Spiniculosa gen. nov. is proposed for two wolf spider species from the Afrotropical Region. One of them was formerly placed in the genus Pardosa, viz. Spiniculosa crassipalpis (Purcell) comb. nov., while the other, S. albida sp. nov., is newly described. These species share traits in the morphology of the male copulatory organs, as well as the males having a row of short spine-like setae proventrally on the first leg coxa and trochanter respectively. Spiniculosa crassipalpis (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia) is redescribed and illustrated, the male palp illustrated for the first time. It is here synonymized with Pardosa upembensis (Roewer, 1959) syn. nov. Spiniculosa albida sp. nov., remarkable for its whitish body coloration, is described on material from a seashore with white sand in Kenya.

Kronestedt, T. (2025) Spiniculosa, a new wolf spider genus (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Africa, with description of a new species from the coast of Kenya. Zootaxa, 5666 (2), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5666.2.4