Zodarion neblibohakrostorum, Zamani & Marusik, 2025

Zodarion neblibohakrostorum sp. nov.

Figs 2C View FIGURE 2 , 13A–B View FIGURE 13

Material. Holotype ♂ ( ZMUT), MOROCCO: Chefchaouen Prov . : 26 km E Bab Berred, Rif Mts, 34°57'40.8"N, 4°40'09.9"W, 1650 m, cedar forest, 5–7.V.2024 (leg. C. Reuter). GoogleMaps

Etymology. The specific epithet is formed using the initial letters of the surnames of Wolfgang Nentwig ( Bern, Switzerland), Theo Blick (Hummeltal, Germany), Robert Bosmans (Gent, Belgium), Ambros Hänggi (Basel, Switzerland), Christian Kropf (Basel, Switzerland), and Anna Stäubli ( Luzern, Switzerland), the editorial board of the Spiders of Europe online database, in recognition of their efforts in creating and maintaining this invaluable resource for taxonomic research on spiders of the Western Palaearctic.

Diagnosis. The new species is most similar to Z. isabellinum (Simon, 1870) in having a similar tegular apophysis and a spine-like embolus originating anteriorly. It differs by: the retrolateral tibial apophysis bent anteriorly and with a rounded tip ( vs. straight and tapering); a relatively smaller tegular apophysis; the prolateral half of the tegulum rounded ( vs. straight), with a spine-like outgrowth near the base of the embolus ( vs. indistinct); the embolus with a wide base ( vs. not wide); and a more strongly developed prolateral loop of the sperm duct, forming almost a 90° angle ( vs. loop almost indistinct) (cf. Fig. 13A–B View FIGURE 13 and Benhalima & Bosmans 2020: figs 3, 4).

Description. Male ( holotype). Habitus as in Fig. 2C View FIGURE 2 . Total length 3.0. Carapace 1.4 long, 1.0 wide. Carapace and chelicerae dark brown; sternum, labium and maxillae light brown. Palps and legs yellowish brown. Abdomen and spinnerets light beige. Measurements of palp and legs: palp: 1.4 (0.5, 0.25, 0.15, -, 0.5), I: 4.2 (1.15, 0.45, 0.95, 1.0, 0.65), II: 2.9+missing tarsus (1.05, 0.45, 0.8, 0.6, missing), III: 3.8 (1.0, 0.45, 0.75, 1.0, 0.6), IV: 5.15 (1.35, 0.5, 1.2, 1.5, 0.6).

Palp as in Fig. 13A–B View FIGURE 13 ; patella wider than tibia; tibia with massive retrolateral apophysis ( RTA) and broad ventral apophysis ( VTA); base of RTA 0.5 of tibia’s width, dorsal part slightly curved, tip strongly bent and rounded; ventral apophysis broad, ~4× wider than long, wider than 0.5 of tibia’s width; cymbium ~1.4× longer than wide; bulb nearly as wide as long; retrolateral part of tegulum weakly sclerotized, prolateral part well sclerotized with rounded mesal extension; tegulum with spine-like projection ( Ts) near embolus base; sperm duct forming strong right-angle loop in prolateral part of tegulum; tegular apophysis small; embolus spine-like, almost straight, arising at ~10:30 position, base wide.

Female. Unknown.

Habitat. Montane coniferous forest ( Fig. 14B View FIGURE 14 ).

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Chefchaouen Province, northern Morocco.