A new species of Loxosceles (Araneae, Sicariidae) from Tunisia Ribera, Carles Planas, Enric ZooKeys 2009 2009-07-29 16 16 217 225 72NHY Ribera & Planas, 2009 Ribera & Planas 2009 [140,349,342,369] Arachnida Sicariidae Loxosceles Animalia Araneae 4 221 Arthropoda species mrazig sp. nov.   urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A8F75878-85CA-4567-874B-EBC8CC24CD02  Figs 2-7    Materialexamined.  1 male( Holotype) from Douz, Tunisia, 33° 24’ 26.77’’ N, 09°02’41.92’’E,  27 January 2007, Cesc Múrrialeg. ( CRBA-LX1054).   Materialfor comparison.  2 males, 2 femalesof  L. gaucho( CRBA-LX1024) from Sao Paulo, Brazil,  November 2007, A. Brescovitleg.;  2 males, 2 femalesof  L. laeta( CRBA-LX1028) from Montevideo, Uruguay, L. Acostaleg.;  1 male, of  L. rufescens( CRBA-LX1012) from Gavà, Barcelona, López-Pancorboleg.    Etymology.The species’ name honours the people called Mrazig, formerly nomadic, living in and around the city of Douz ( Tunisia). The Mrazig are the descendants of the Banu Saleim tribe that fled the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century and came to Tunisiain the thirteenth century. It is known that they practiced transhumance in the Great Sahara. Noun in apposition.    Diagnosis.Differs from  L. gaucho,  L. rufescensand its similar relatives in the proportion of male palp segments, mainly the tibia. In  L. mrazigthe tibia is markedly oval, slightly longer than wide (0.63 - 0.54) ( Figs 2, 3, 5); in  L. gauchoit is ¾ as wide as long ( Gertsch 1967, plates 3-4), whereas, in  L. rufescens, it is slightly oval, although dorsally almost straight ( Gertsch 1967, plate 10). Also differs from  L. rufescensby the size of the tegulum and the size and shape of the embolus ( Figs 2-5). Body pigmentation yellowish-brown in  L. gauchoand pale yellow in  L. mrazig. In general, the morphological differences compared to  L. rufescensare more conspicuous. The size of the tegulum and, especially, the shape and length of the embolus are clearly different.    Description.Colouration: Carapace pale yellowish with a fine, pale brown lateral stripe. Median groove and adjacent integuments darkened. Pars cephalica slightly darkened, brown coloured, and clearly demarcated by a lateral reddish brown line. Less conspicuous, but still important, diagnostic traits are the four thin longitudinal lines (lightly impressed when seen under higher magnification) located in the centre of the pars cephalica ( Fig. 6). Eye tubercles black. Sternum pale yellowish, paler than carapace. Labium and gnathocoxae with slightly more pigmentation. Legs light yellow or somewhat shaded, with the apical segments slightly darkened. Opisthosoma yellowish-white.   Prosoma.Carapace ( Fig. 6) slightly longer (2.39) than wide (2.15). Median groove deep, occupying the posterior third of carapace. Clypeal width slightly more than 2.5 diameters of ME. Eyes close together ( Fig. 7); LE separated from ME by the diameter of ME. LE larger than ME (0.18 - 0.1 respectively). Sternum about ⅔ as wide as long, extended between the IV pair of coxae. Labium as long as wide at its base, apically narrowed and rounded. Gnathocoxae distally convergent, enclosing the labium.   Figures 2-5.Male palp of  Loxosceles mrazig sp. n. 2prolateral view 3retrolateral view 4apical view 5dorsal view.  Opisthosomaelongate oval in dorsal view.   Malepalp( Figs 2-5). Femur cylindrical, more than five times longer than wide. Tibia short, oval, slightly longer than wide. Tarsus flattened below, slightly shorter than tibia, rounded apically. Tegulum large, 4/5 as wide as tarsal length. Embolus enlarged at base, forming a sinuous curve, about 1.5 times longer than tegulum.   Measurements.Male ( holotype): Prosoma 2.15 wide, 2.39 long: opisthosoma 3.22 long. Total body length 5.61. Legs: I: coxa 0.81, trochanter 0.23, femur 5.42, patella 0.84, tibia 5.70, metatarsus 5.76, tarsus 1.38, total length 20.14; II: coxa 0.58, rest of segments missing. III: coxa 0.81, trochanter 0.23, femur 4.94, patella 0.82, tibia 4.69, metatarsus 5.37, tarsus 1.12, total length 17.98; IV: coxa 0.81, trochanter 0.23, femur 5.26, patella 0.84, tibia 5.40, metatarsus 6.42, tarsus 1.33, total length 20.29; Palp: femur 1.19, patella 0.36, tibia 0.63, tarsus 0.56, total length 2.74. Female unknown.    Distribution.So far,  L. mrazigis known only from the typelocality. The unique specimen was collected in a dune of sand near the city of Douz. 2611455304 2007-01-27 Cesc Murria Tunisia 33.407436 Douz 1 9.044978 4 221 1 1 holotype 2611455301 2007-11 CRBA-LX A. Brescovit Brazil Sao Paulo 4 221 CRBA-LX1024 4 2 2 Sao Paulo 2611455303 CRBA-LX L. Acosta Uruguay Montevideo 4 221 CRBA-LX1028 4 2 2 Montevideo 2611455302 CRBA-LX Lopez-Pancorbo Uruguay 4 221 CRBA-LX1012 1 1 Montevideo