Cebrennus villosus ( Jézéquel & Junqua, 1966 ), Jezequel & Junqua, 1966

Jäger, Peter, 2014, Cebrennus Simon, 1880 (Araneae: Sparassidae): a revisionary up-date with the description of four new species and an updated identification key for all species, Zootaxa 3790 (2), pp. 319-356 : 347-351

Cebrennus villosus ( Jézéquel & Junqua, 1966)

Figs 128–134 , 147–148 , 173

Cerbalopsis villosa Jézéquel and Junqua, 1966: 970 , figs 4–8 (description of male and female; 3 males, 10 females, juveniles, syntypes from Grand Erg Occidental [for notes on the type locality see below], MNHN, not found).

Cebrennus villosus (Jézéquel & Junqua) . Jäger 2000e: 181, figs 73–85 (illustration of male and female from Tunisia).

Note. In the original publication no exact type locality is mentioned. Grand Erg Occidental is a huge area with an extent of ca. 500 km (West-East) by 300 km (North-South). Jézéquel and Junqua (1966) mention a Solifugae ( Othoes saharae ) as potential competitor or predator of C. villosus . In the cited work on this species (Junqua 1966) it is mentioned that studies were performed with the Centre de Recherches Sahariennes de Béni-Abbès as base for collecting and rearing. Therefore, in Fig. 173 the type locality was set close to this Centre.

Material examined. TUNISIA: Kebili: 1 female (PJ 2466, SD 522), 2 juveniles, Jbil National Park, N 33.14°, E 9.26° [137 m elev.], U. Moldrzyk leg. October 2005, female died 5 May 2006 ( SMF); 1 female (PJ 3328, SD 712), 2 juveniles, Grand Erg Oriental, small area of dunes, N 32°59.45', E 9°1.512' [137 m elev.], U. Moldrzyk leg. October 2010, female died 14 April 2011 ( SMF).

Description. See Jäger (2000).

Variation. One female from Tunisia: PL 7.2, PW 6.1, AW 4.1, OL 8.1, OW 6.4; chelicerae with 2 anterior and 2 adnate posterior teeth.

Distribution. Algeria (Grand Erg Occidental), Tunisia (Grand Erg Oriental).

Biology. Cebrennus villosus builds vertical burrows as described in Jézéquel and Junqua (1966) as well as in Jäger (2000) according to observations in the lab. Figs 131–134 show different stages of this behaviour: the female carries sand from the ground of the burrow with their palps and chelicerae and specialised elongated bristles respectively, which latter build a basked to hold as much of the small-grained desert sand ( Fig. 131 ). The sand is deposited around the opening of the burrow in a distance of ca. one to three centimetres. When the spider goes again down to the burrow bottom it moves in a circle and strengthens the silken wall with new layers of silk ( Fig. 132 ). The special shape of opisthosoma fits into the circular cross section of the tube and the minimised crosssection dimension in order to save energy in these harsh environments. When closing the burrow with the silken lid sand is taken with the fourth leg to cover the silk by sand grains ( Fig. 133 ). The fourth leg is also the last one that pokes out of the burrow before it is definitely closed. Around the closed burrow characteristic radial marks of the leg movements are left behind ( Fig. 134 ). When the sand is blown away by the wind the top part of the tube is visible in the morning ( Fig. 147 ). When a tube is dug out the layered structure is recognisable ( Fig. 148 ).

The threatening behaviour was described in Jäger (2000). Fig. 130 shows a female from Tunisia in the lab, standing at its tiptoes raising the first pair of leg after it was tantalised in its cage. It never showed the flic-flac behaviour, described above for C. rechenbergi spec. nov., neither in the field (Moldrzyk, personal communication) nor in the lab.

Figures

FIGURE 173. Distribution records of Cebrennus spp. (according to Jäger 2000 and references therein, this paper and Reimoser 1919). Note that the exact locality for C. laurae spec. nov. is unknown.

FIGURES 128 – 134. Cebrennus villosus (Jézéquel & Junqua, 1966), females from Tunisia, photos of live spiders. 128 – 129 Habitus showing specialised hairs on palps and chelicerae; 130 Threatening behaviour; 131 Carrying sand with specialised hairs; 132 Adding silk strands to the tube wall when descending to the bottom; 133 Closing the tube opening with a silken lid; 134 Pattern of leg movements around the closed opening.

FIGURES 147 – 151. Silken burrows (149, 150 [right] showing distal extensions). 147 – 148 Cebrennus villosus (Jézéquel & Junqua, 1966) from Tunisia; 149 – 151 Cebrennus rechenbergi spec. nov. from Erg Chebbi, Morocco. Photos: 147 – 148 Beudels; 149 – 151 I. Rechenberg.