Cyrtophora Simon, 1864

Hamid, Majeed Shafi & Al-Khazali, Azhar Mohammed, 2025, Hersiliola babilinus sp. nov. and New Spider Records (Arachnida: Araneae) from Babil Province, Iraq, Ecologica Montenegrina 83, pp. 33-46 : 34-36

Genus Cyrtophora Simon, 1864

Cyrtophora citricola (Forsskål, 1775) (Figs. 2,3).

For the list of references see the WSC (2025).

Identification. Levy (1998).

Material examined. 2♀♀ ( CBEUS), IRAQ: Babil Province, Al-Baraka region, Saddat Al-Hindiya district , from the side of a main road, 32°42'37.45"N, 44°16'51.81"E, 15 December 2023. Leg. M.S. Hamid .

Description. Female: Overall appearance as in Fig. 2 A-B. Measurements: Total length 9.98 mm; carapace 3.29 mm long, 2.47 mm wide; opisthosoma 6.69 mm long, 4.34 mm wide; leg measurements: I: 15.97 mm, II: 14.47 mm, III: 12.48 mm, IV: 15.97 mm. Carapace slightly elongated, brown with wide yellow spots on each side of the middle, covered with dense white hairs giving a greyish appearance. Sternum, endites, and labium uniform yellow. Proximal part of coxae, especially the fourth, with light brown spots. Legs uniformly yellowish with broad black rings. Opisthosoma yellowish-brown with five visible white humps, posterior lobes brown and visible. Ventrally yellowish-brown without a distinctive pattern, except around the epigyne and spinnerets, which are dark brown.

Habitat. Specimens were collected by shaking a willow tree located along one of the main roads on the banks of the Euphrates River.

Distribution. Southern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Japan. Introduced to Cuba, Dominican Rep., Costa Rica, Colombia, and Brazil (World Spider Catalog, 2025). Current study. Both genus and species are new to Iraq.

Figures

Figure 2. Cyrtophora citricola (Forsskål, 1775), female. A. habitus, dorsal view; B. same, ventral view.