The spider family Anyphaenidae, commonly called ghost spiders, has long been considered a subfamily of the Clubionidae and the former Drassidae (today Gnaphosidae), but they are sufficiently distinctive to be ranked as an independent family (e.g. Platnick 1974, Ramirez 2003). According to Urones et al. (1995) the position of the tracheal stigma, the structure of lamelliform claw tufts and the extension of its tracheal system seem to be determining features for the whole family. These spiders are mostly nocturnal, wandering hunters.

Anyphaenidae include 57 genera and 614 species worldwide (World Spider Catalog 2022), but only a few species live in the western Palaearctic region (Nentwig et al. 2022). The genus Anyphaena is the largest and most unique genus of this family, distributed in Europe and North Africa. From a total of 87 species (World Spider Catalog 2022), 61 are known from North and central America (70%), 18 from Asia (21%), six from Europe (7%) and only two (2%) from Africa: Anyphaena numida Simon, 1897 and Anyphaena sabina L. Koch, 1866 (Nentwig et al. 2022). In addition to these two species, we add a further one, Anyphaena alboirrorata Simon, 1878, which was newly collected in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and, which is therefore also new to the Maghreb region.

Material and methods

Study area. The research was conducted in three countries: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In Algeria, three regions were investigated. The first one was the Ouled Naïl Range in the Saharan Atlas, on the edge of the desert. This dryland is becoming presently heavily degraded in the process of desertification (Benderradji et al. 2006, Guit & Nedjimi 2020). Two sites were sampled in this region. Djellal Chergui, naturally occurring Aleppo pine trees, 12 km south-east of Djelfa and Sahary Guebli (Fig. 1), 300 km south of Algiers, which is considered as a one of the most important natural stands of Aleppo pine forests in the arid zones of the Algerian Saharan Atlas. Both sites have a semi-arid, cold winter climate, with an annual average temperature of 21.6°C. The average precipitation is estimated at 300 mm/year. The second investigated area in Algeria was Aïn Yagout, located 35 km north-east of Batna in the Aurès region, which is a part of the Saharan Atlas. The third studied region was located in the forest of Djebel Babor in Sétif, a part of the Tell Atlas massif, located just 15 km from the Mediterranean Sea. The precipitation can reach over 2000 mm/year in this area.

In Morocco, the study sites were situated in the two northern provinces: the region of Larache in the province of Tangier and the Maâmora Forest in the province of Rabat. The spiders were sampled here in an Atlantic cork oak (Quercus suber L.) forest. In Tunisia, the material was collected from the northern governorates: Kasserine, El Kef and Zaghouan. The map was created with d-maps (2021).

Sampling. Material was collected using pitfall traps or by hand. Specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol. A stereomicroscope (Nikon SMA 1270) was used for the specimens' examination and a Moticam camera mounted on a Realux microscope and Olympus SZX7 stereomicroscope to take photographs. Material was collected in Algeria between 1989 and 2003 by the fourth author and in 2018 by the first author from natural Aleppo pine stands. In Morocco, individuals of Anyphaena were collected by the second author during 1989. In Tunisia, spiders were collected in 2003 and in Spain between 1996 and 1999 by the fourth author.

Fig. 1.

Sampling area for Anyphaena alboirrorata: natural strips of forests in Djebel Bahrara (Sahary Guebli)

Abbreviations

CRB: Collection Robert Bosmans, CAH: Collection Aicha Habita, CYA: Collection Youcef Alioua, CSB: Collection Souâd Benhalima.

Results

Fig. 2.

Anyphaena alboirrorata from Djelfa (Algeria). Female, ventral view (Oger 2021)

Fig. 3.

Male palp of Anyphaena alboirrorata from Djelfa (Algeria). a. ventral view; b. prolateral view (Oger 2021)

Fig. 4.

Male palps in retrolateral view. a. Anyphaena alboirrorata from Djelfa (Algeria); b. Anyphaena numida from France; c. Anyphaena sabina from France (Oger 2021)

Fig. 5.

Ventral view of epigynes. a. Anyphaena alboirrorata from Djelfa (Algeria); b. Anyphaena numida from France; c. Anyphaena sabina from France (Oger 2021)

Fig. 6.

Distribution of Anyphaena alboirrorata in the Western Mediterranean region. Circles: previous records (Simon 1878, 1932, Machado 1949, Branco et al. 2019, De Biurrun et al. 2019, Morano et al. 2019, Pantini & Isaia 2019), triangles: new records

Discussion

Three A. alboirrorata females were collected in the canopy of naturally occurring Allepo pine trees in Djelfa, where they were living in tree foliage. According to Simon (1878), this Anyphaena species lives on tall plants and shrubs. Soyer (1963) collected it on a hill and around salt flats (France), Urones et al. (1995) on vegetation in dry and open areas with a predominance of heather (Portugal and Spain). Urones (1996) also found it on vegetation in open or dry areas such as moors, open pine forests and oak forests (Portugal, Spain and Balearic Islands). Our result is in accordance with these previously published data, since our localities consisted of dry habitats. Apparently, A. alboirrorata prefers dry and hot areas with dense vegetation providing support for silken threads of their retreat.

The new records in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco are the most southern points in the known distribution of A. alboirrorata. It was captured at several localities in the northernmost parts of the countries (Fig. 6), from the coast to the steppe region. This suggests that the species is fairly widespread in the region and occupies a large spectrum of different habitats. Soyer (1963) showed that adults are found late and early in the year. In Spain, the females were collected in spring (Urones 1996), however, in Algeria and Morocco adults were also found during the winter.

Anyphaena numida was collected from a cork oak forest in Tunisia. This is in accordance with Urones et al. (1995) who mentioned different Mediterranean forest types as a typical habitat for the species.

The here presented data show that the Maghreb region is still largely unexplored, and more efforts are needed to uncover the occurrence and distribution of spiders and other arachnids.