Zodarion algarvense

Zodarion algarvense is a species of ant spider, a member of the family Zodariidae, that was first described by Robert Bosmans in 1994.{{cite web |author=World Spider Catalog |year=2025 |title=Zodarion algarvense Bosmans, 1994 |website=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum|place=Bern|url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/44180/Zodarion_algarvense|version=26.0|access-date=20 April 2025}} The specific name recalls the place were it was first found.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=120}} It was allocated to the genus Zodarion, circumscribed by Charles Walckenaer in 1826.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=116}} The genus is a member of the family Zodariidae, first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1881.{{sfn|Benhalima|Bosmans|2020|page=93}} RAD sequencing has demonstrated that it is one of the oldest of the extant spider genera, dating to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.{{sfn|Ortiz|Pekár|Dianat|2021|page=324}}

The spider is relatively small. The male has typical total length of {{convert|2.4|mm|in|abbr=on}}. Its carapace has a typical length of {{convert|1.18|mm|in|abbr=on}} and width of {{convert|0.92|mm|in|abbr=on}}. It is yellowish to yellowish orange with a greyish-brown eye field and has a spot in front of its fovea. Its opisthosoma is dark sepia with a series of white spots towards the back. Its underside is whitish. Its legs are pale orange to yellow. Its spinnerets are dark sepia as well, but the area around them is marked with a dark whitish stripe.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|pages=120–121}} The spider's copulatory organs distinguish it from other members of the genus. Although its cymbium is similar in shape to others, its palpal bulb has a characteristic lump towards the top and a wider base. As with other members of the genus, the embolus is accompanied by a spiker, or terminal apophysis. In this species, the embolus is longer. There is also a long apophysis that projects from the palpal tibia, It has a slightly pointed end.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=117}}

The species shows a degree of sexual dimorphism as the female is larger than the male, with a total length between {{convert|3.2|and|3.6|mm|in|abbr=on}}. Its carapace is between {{convert|1.42|and|1.46|mm|in|abbr=on}} long and between {{convert|0.98|and|1.08|mm|in|abbr=on}} wide. Otherwise, externally it is very similar to the male. Its epigyne, the external visible part of its copulatory organs, has a shallow trapezoid depression in the middle and two large spots near the bottom.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=121}} This distinguishes from other species in the genus.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=134}}

Zodarion spiders are known to mimic ants for both defensive purposes and to surprise prey.{{sfn|Pekár|Král|2002|page=518}} This has led to their common name, ant spiders. The spiders will hunt on ant trails and other places frequented by prey. In three-quarters of observed encounters with ants, the spiders were successful in their deception, and even when not, would frequently attempt to distract their prey and attack from behind.{{sfn|Pekár|Král|2002|page=521}} The spiders only prey on ants, and often specific subfamilies of ants.{{sfn|Pekár|Petráková Dušátková|Michálek|Haddad|2020|page=1313}} Their success in devouring specific types of ants has led to the proposal to use these spiders as biological pest controls.{{sfn|Pekár|2005|page=197}}

The majority of Zodarion spiders live in the area around the Mediterranean Sea, particularly the western side.{{sfn|Pekár|Cardoso|Meierrose|2003|page=385}} Zodarion algarvense is endemic to Portugal. The holotype was discovered in Monte Gordo in 1971.{{sfn|Bosmans|1994|page=120}} It has also been observed in the Santo André and Sancha Lagoons Natural Reserve.{{sfn|Pekár|Cardoso|Barriga|Carvalho|2011|page=22}} The species may also be found in Southern Spain and Northern Morocco.{{sfn|Pekár|Cardoso|Barriga|Carvalho|2011|page=26}}

• List of Zodariidae species

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite journal | last1=Benhalima | first1=Souâd | last2=Bosmans | first2=Robert | year=2020 | title=Revision of the genus Zodarion Walckenaer, 1833 (part IV). The species of Morocco (Araneae: Zodariidae) | journal=Zootaxa | volume=4899 | number=1 | pages=93–114 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.5}}
• {{cite journal | last=Bosmans | first=Robert | year=1994 | title=Revision of the genus Zodarion Walckenaer, 1833 in the Iberian peninsula and Balearic islands (Araneae, Zodariidae) | journal=Eos | volume=69 | issn=0013-9440 | pages=115–142}}
• {{cite journal | last1=Ortiz | first1=David | last2=Pekár | first2=Stano | last3=Dianat | first3=Malahat | year=2021 | title=Phylogenomics and loci dropout patterns of deeply diverged Zodarion ant‐eating spiders suggest a high potential of RAD‐seq for genus‐level spider phylogenetics | journal=Cladistics | volume=38 | number=3 | pages=320-334 | doi=10.1111/cla.12493}}
• {{cite journal | last=Pekár | first=Stano | year=2005 | title=Predatory characteristics of ant-eating Zodarion spiders (Araneae: Zodariidae): potential biological control agents | journal=Biological Control | volume=34 | number=2 | pages=196-203 | doi=10.1016/j.biocontrol.2005.05.008}}
• {{cite journal | last1=Pekár | first1=Stano | last2=Cardoso | first2=Pedro | last3=Barriga | first3=Javier C. | last4=Carvalho | first4=José C. | year=2011 | title=Update to the zodariid spider fauna of the Iberian peninsula and Madeira (Araneae: Zodariidae) | journal=Zootaxa | volume=2814 | pages=19–32 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.2814.1.2}}
• {{cite journal | last1=Pekár | first1=Stano | last2=Cardoso | first2=Pedro | last3=Meierrose

| first3=Carola | year=2003 | title=Additions to the knowledge of Portuguese zodariid spiders (Araneae: Zodariidae) | journal=Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society | volume=12 | number=9 | pages=385–395}}

• {{cite journal | last1=Pekár | first1=Stano | last2=Král | first2=Jiří | year=2002 | title=Mimicry complex in two central European zodariid spiders (Araneae: Zodariidae): How Zodarion deceives ants | journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume=75 | pages=517–532 | doi=10.1046/j.1095-8312.2002.00043.x| doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal | last1=Pekár | first1=Stano | first2=Lenka | last2=Petráková Dušátková | first3=Ondřej | last3=Michálek | first4=Charles R. | last4=Haddad | year=2020 | title=Coexistence of two termite‐eating specialists (Araneae) | journal=Ecological Entomology | volume=45 | number=6 | pages=1307–1317 | doi=10.1111/een.12914| s2cid=225592321}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2455615}}

Category:Endemic fauna of Portugal

Category:Spiders described in 1994

algarvense