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...

A revision of the genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 (Araneae: Trachelidae) in the continental Afrotropical Region

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A revision of the genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 (Araneae: Trachelidae) in the continental Afrotropical Region

Abstract

The polyphyletic spider genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872, with the type species T. minor O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 from Europe (also known in North Africa and Central Asia), has a worldwide distribution in the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions, although Trachelas sensu stricto is restricted to the Old World. Here the continental Afrotropical species are revised and a description of Trachelas sensu stricto is provided. Trachelas canariensis Wunderlich, 1987, T. chubbi Lessert, 1921, T. pusillus Lessert, 1923 and T. sylvae Caporiacco, 1949 are redescribed, and the female of T. pusillus described for the first time. Seven new species are described: T. falsus sp. nov. (♂ ♀, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania), T. humus sp. nov. (♂ ♀, Namibia and South Africa), T. leggi sp. nov. (♂ ♀, South Africa), T. longinquus sp. nov. (♂, Central African Republic), T. russellsmithi sp. nov. (♀, Ethiopia), T. scutatus sp. nov. (♂ ♀, Ghana and Nigeria) and T. smithi sp. nov. (♀, Kenya). The female of Trachelas scopulifer Simon, 1896 is redescribed, its male is described for the first time, and its transfer to Thysanina Simon, 1910 proposed. The immature female type of T. punctatus Simon, 1886 from Senegal is presumed lost and this species is considered a nomen dubium. A key to the continental species of Afrotropical Trachelas is provided. A molecular phylogeny based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) indicates that the New World species of the genus belong to a distinct lineage and are only distantly related to Trachelas sensu stricto.

Haddad, C. R. & Lyle, R. (2025). A revision of the genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 (Araneae: Trachelidae) in the continental Afrotropical Region. Zootaxa 5673(4): 451-493. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5673.4.1