Zodarion pusio Simon

Shafaie, Sepideh, Pekár, Stano, Korba, Jan, Doumandji, Salaheddine & Berretima, Wahiba, 2025, Contribution to the zodariid spider fauna (Araneae: Zodariidae) of Algeria, Journal of Natural History 59 (25 - 28), pp. 1895-1916 : 1912

Zodarion pusio Simon

( Figures 4 (I), 5 (I), 9(G–I))

Zodarion pusio Simon 1914, p. 229 , 235; figs. 470, 483–484 (♂ ♀); Denis 1935c: 67, 76; figs. 20–21 (♂ ♀); Denis 1937a: 29; fig. 40 (♂ ♀); Pesarini 1991: 8, fig. 1a–b (♂ ♀); Pesarini 1993: 6, figs. 1, 6, 11 (♂ ♀); Bosmans 1997: 274; figs. 18–19, 89–90 (♂ ♀); Bosmans 2009: 221, figs. 3–4, 9–10 (♂ ♀); Déjean 2016: 14, figs. 1C, F, 3A (♂ ♀).

Zodarion punicum : Denis 1937a: 28, pl. 5, figs. 37–39 (♂ ♀); Bosmans 1997: 275; Bouragba et al. 2012: 82. (syn. n.).

Material examined

ALGERIA: 32♂, 11♀, labelled as ‘ Biskra, Bou Saada, Constaine’, without further data ( MNHN-AR1544 ) . 4♂, 2♀ ( MNHN-AR1544 ), Tissemsilt Province, Theniet-el-Had Town , without further data . 1♂ ( CMU), Biskra Province, Serraoui Private Palm Grove , May 2014 (W. Berretima) . 2♀ ( CMU), Algiers Province, Sidi M’Hamed district, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique d’Algérie ( INRAA), May 2014 (W. Berretima) . 1♀ ( CMU), Biskra Province, Institut Technique de Développement de l’Agriculture Saharienne ( ITDAS), June 2014 (W. Berretima) . 7♂, 5♀, 10 juveniles ( CMU), Biskra Province, Station Régionale de la protection des végétaux ( SRPV), 6 June 2014 (W. Berretima) . 1♂ ( CMU), idem, February 2015 .

Comment

Earlier studies on Z. pusio have documented this species in France and Italy. Pesarini (1993) proposed that Z. punicum , a species described by Denis (1937) from Tunisia, should be considered a junior synonym of Z. pusio . However, Bosmans (1997) rejected this synonymy after examining specimens from Algeria, which were diagnosed by a shorter tibial hook and more rounded tegular bulge – traits that closely resembled the illustrations of Z. punicum provided by Denis (1937). It is important to note that neither Pesarini nor Bosmans examined the type material of Z. punicum . Later, Bouragba et al. (2012) included Z. punicum in a list of African species, though they did not provide supporting evidence.

In the present study, we examined a large number of Algerian specimens housed at the MNHN, including those previously identified by Bosmans as Z. punicum . Upon side-by-side comparison, we found no significant differences between these specimens and those of Z. pusio . We therefore propose the synonymisation of Z. punicum with Z. pusio .

Figures

Figure 4. Male habitus in dorsal view (A–I). (A) Zodarion algiricum; (B) Z. bicoloripes; (C) Z. bifidum, sp. n.; (D) Z. cesari; (E) Z. dispar; (F) Z. kabylianum; (G) Z. ludibundum; (H) Z. mesranense; (I) Z. pusio. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.