Haplodrassus Chamberlin, 1922

Bosmans, Robert, Kherbouche-Abrous, Ourida, Benhalima, Souâd & Hervé, Christophe, 2018, The genus Haplodrassus Chamberlin, 1922 in the Mediterranean and the Maghreb in particular (Araneae: Gnaphosidae), Zootaxa 4451 (1), pp. 1-67 : 6-7

Genus Haplodrassus Chamberlin, 1922

Type species: Haplodrassus hiemalis (Emerton, 1909) .

Diagnosis. Kovblyuk et al. (2012) provided an excellent diagnosis of the genus. It actually counts 72 species ( World Spider Catalog 2017), of which 8 have been cited in the Maghreb.

Diagnostic characters of the species of the genus Haplodrassus . Size. Small to medium-sized, often robust gnaphosids. This is a very variable character in Haplodrassus . Size categories are small (2.3‒5 mm), medium-sized (4‒7 mm) or medium sized to large 6‒15 mm. The largest species are the most variable in size. Variation in size of the different species of the Maghreb is listed in Table 1.

Spinulation. Generally, the spinulation of the legs is as in Table 2 (grouped spines between brackets):

Femora I‒II with 2 dorsal and 1 prolateral spines, femora III‒IV with supplementary pro- and retrolateral spines. Tibia I‒II spineless, tibiae III‒IV with numerous spines. Metatarsi I‒II with 1 proventral and 1 retroventral spine, metatarsi III‒IV with abundant spines. It appeared that even in the same population, variations can occur. The ventral spines on Mt I‒II are often absent, some additional spines can be present on TiI-II and there is variation in the number and disposition of the spines on Tibiae III‒IV and Metatarsi III‒IV. Spinulation thus cannot be used to separate species, H. nigroscriptus being the only exception with additional spines present on the palpi (see diagnosis of this species).

Genital organs. The morphological characters of male and female copulatory organs are the most important diagnostic characters, as in most other spiders. The most important ones are shown in Figs 13‒14 in the male palp and Figs 16 – 17 in the epigyne and vulva. The nomenclature follows Omelko & Marusik (2012). The retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA) of the male palp is a very important character. The relative length, the presence of dorsal or ventral concavities at pro- or retrolateral side, the presence of keels and the shape of the tip are important. The tegulum always carries a median apophysis (MA) at its prolateral side. It is connected to the bulbus by a membrane. Its orientation can therefore be variable and can depend on the fixation conditions of the spider. Its general shape is hook-like and it shows practically no variation throughout the genus. The embolic apophysis (EA)— Simon’s “lame sigmoide” (1914) — has a medio-distal position in the palp and is another very important diagnostic character. It is an elongated, more or less curved sclerite with pro- or retrolateral concavities, eventually provided with teeth or keels and with a more or less pointed tip. At its prolateral side, the embolic apophyis is connected to the embolus. The embolus (E) is a gently curved sclerite at the retrolateral side of the bulbus, often partly covered by the embolic apophysis. A basal tooth can be present and at its retrolateral margin, subterminal denticles can be present. A detailed study of the embolus is not included in this work.

Females have an epigyne with a plate that can be as wide as long or longer than wide, expressed as the ratio length/width. The anterior margin can be well sclerotized or poorly sclerotized, and can be straight or curved; it covers a hood (H) of variable size. The epigyne has a large atrium which is divided into an unchitinised upper or anterior part which is laterally in open connection with the integument of the abdomen, called pro-fovea (PF) here, and a well-defined basal or posterior part, the fovea (F), and its ratio can be relevant. The upper part is whitish and can be wrinkled, the basal part is a generally pale depression with lateral margins which can be denticulate. Laterally, the fovea is flanked by a brown to dark brown area, the areola (A)— Simon’s “pièce en fer-à-cheval”- that can be denticulate. The vulva consists of basal receptacles (Re), lateral pockets (LP) bordering the median fovea and copulatory and fertilisation ducts. The presence of an exudate in the lateral part of the fovea can deform the whole appearance of the epigyne and vulva. It can have the same colour of the areola and may obscure teeth or denticles, often leading to misidentifications.

Figures

FIGURES 10–17. Haplodrassus dalmatensis (France, male from Saint-André, female from Île de Bagaud). 10. Male, dorsal aspect; 11. Female, dorsal aspect; 12. Male palpal tibia, dorsolateral view; 13. Male left palp, retrolateral view; 14. Idem, ventral view; 15. Idem, prolateral view; 16. Epigyne, ventral view; 17. Vulva, ventral view. Male palp (Fig. 14): E=Embolus; MA=Median apophysis; RTA: Retrolateral tibial apophysis; EA=Embolic apophysis. Epigyne (Figs 16, 17): A=Areola; F=Fovea; H=Hood; LP=Lateral pocket; PF=Pro-fovea; S=Septum; Sp=Spermatheca.