Scytodes major Simon, 1885

Scytodes major Simon, 1885 View in CoL

Fig. 33 View FIGURE 33

Scytodes major: Simon 1909: 13 View in CoL ; Simon 1910: 305; Caporiacco 1928: 82; Denis 1954: 315; Denis 1961: 164.

Previous records. ALGERIA: Tamanrasset, Thabort, Source Chappuis ( Denis1954). LIBYA: Sha‘bīyat al Buţnān, Porto Bardia (= Bardiya; Caporiacco 1928). MOROCCO: Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz, Mogador (= Essaouira; Simon 1909).

FIGURES 24–31. Scytodes annulipes View in CoL (24, 28), S. thoracica View in CoL (25, 30), S. velutina View in CoL . (26, 31) and S. seppoi View in CoL sp. n. (27, 29). 24–27: lateral view of male palp; 28–31: vulva, ventral view.

New records. MOROCCO: Guelmim-Es Smara, Tighmert oasis, 3 subadult ♀♀, in hotel in oasis, 12.II.2007 (CRB), Souss-Massa Drâa, Medina of Agadir, 1 subadult ♀, stones around market place, 16.II.2007 (CRB). Comments. Scytodes major View in CoL is a species from West Africa ( Millot 1941), where it often occurs in houses. Apart from its size, it is not unlike S. thoracica View in CoL and Brignoli (1976) found no differences in the sexual organs. The species was cited in the Maghreb from the south of Algeria ( Denis 1954), the south of Morocco ( Simon 1909) and the north-east of Libya, Caporiacco (1928) ( Fig. 33 View FIGURE 33 ), the last one probably erroneous. In the south of Morocco we found some subadult specimens, also in houses, that were much larger and differently coloured to S. velutina View in CoL , the only other Scytodes View in CoL species occurring in that region. They are tentatively identified as S. major View in CoL . Further adult material, especially males, is necessary to confirm this.