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Decreased ambient temperature and shorter reproductive seasons are the two main obstacles that ectotherms face at higher elevations. Studies have shown that some life history traits such as phenological windows of activity, duration, and fitness components vary as elevation increases. However, studies on the elevational gradient at the southern range limit of species are lacking. In this study, we aim at assessing some aspects of the life history of a spider species, the sprassid Micrommata ligurina (C.L. Koch, 1845), across an elevational gradient from 30 to 1030 m in Northeast Algeria. There was strong evidence of an elevational shift in the phenology of reproduction with a delay rate of 2.2 days per 100 m of elevation, and the three quantiles of the phenology (10, 50, and 90%) shifted with the same magnitude across elevation. In all sites from low to high elevation, the species showed a decrease in number of individuals. The mean number of eggs was 200 ± 35 eggs, and the mean number of hatching eggs was 110.9 ± 23.5 eggs. The clutch size at high elevation sites was higher than that of low-elevation sites, but in contrast, the hatching success was higher at lower elevation sites. Overall, the species exhibited clear elevational clines in life history traits and abundance, suggesting a high potential of plasticity. This work constitutes the first study carried out on spider species ecology in the region.

The scorpion fauna of Libya is varied and endemic, but little explored. Our work is a contribution to the study into the ecology and distribution patterns of scorpions from the Misurata region (North Libya). Investigations were carried out at 12 sites between June 2019 and December 2020 using ultraviolet light. We sampled 96 adult specimens belonging to nine species: Androctonus amoreuxi (relative abundance “RA” = 2.08%), Androctonus australis (RA = 31.25%), Androctonus bicolor (RA = 9.33%), Buthacus arenicola, Buthacus sp. 1 and Buthacus sp. 2 (RA = 3.13%), Buthiscus bicalcaratus (RA = 10.42%) Buthus adrianae (RA = 18.75%) and Buthus orientalis (RA = 19.79%). This region is characterized by great scorpion diversity and high community evenness. Among the specimens belonging to the above-mentioned nine species, we noted two species of Egyptian Buthus: B. adrianae and B. orientalis, representing a new record for Libya, and classified as a very accidental species (Occ = 50%). By frequency of occurrence, the other species were assigned to different categories ranging from very accidental to the common ones. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) performed to detect gradients in species composition and species-environment relations confirmed the existence of a close relationship between some species and their biotopes, i.e., scorpions of the genus Buthacus were associated with sandy habitats, while A. amoreuxi and A. australis were associated with desert conditions (scarce vegetation, low precipitation and elevation). However, the ecological preferences of B. bicalcaratus remain uncertain.

This study is an avifaunistic diversity assessment was carried out in the Merine forest, Sidi Bel Abbes (Northwest Algeria). During three years (2019-2021). The major objective of our investigation is to inventory avian species and to define their phenological categories. Among the important results is a record of, 71 species of bird, belonging to 17 orders and 28 families. The Passeriformes are the most noted with 43 species, distributed across 15 families, of which the Muscicapidae is the most represented with 10 species. The phenological categories indicates that the majority of this species are resident breeders (65 %), 21% are migrant breeders and 14% are passing visitors. Depending on trophic status, 32% are polyphagous, 27% insectivorous, 17% carnivorous, 15% granivorous and 8% omnivorous. In addition, we noted that, 31 species are protected by Flat 12-235 in Algeria, with one species (Falco naumanni) protected by the Ordinance 06-05. Internationally and one species protected according of the IUCN red list (Streptopelia turtur). The Merine forest is shelter to five species endemic to North Africa: Barbary Partridge (Alectoris barbara), Levaillant's Woodpecker (Picus vaillantii), Moussier's Redstart (Phoenicurus moussieri), Tristram's Warbler (Sylvia deserticola), African Blue Tit (Cyanistes teneriffae).

A new species of Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) is described from El-Oued, Debila, in Algeria. The number of confirmed Orthochirus species from Algeria is now raised to two. Further studies most certainly will clarify the status of yet undescribed populations.

The Rough Bent-toed Gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden,1827) was recently recorded in Algeria, from the east part of countries. In this note, another new locality of this species in the central Algeria (Ghardaïa region), situated at 450 km west form the last locality, based on one specimen fond in Bord of Sebkhet. C. scabrum is listed as an invasive species and it was reported as a desert species, in our finding it was recorded in an important wetland (Sebkhet El Melah) which is classified in the Ramsar list in 2004, this statement proves once again the ecological plasticity of this species.

The present study consists in making an inventory of the scorpionic fauna at the level of the Algerian north-west (Tlemcen, Naama and Bechar). Following a 10-month survey, we were able to collect a total of 117 living scorpions, they are grouped into 8 species belonging to two large families (Buthidae and Scorpionidae). Indeed, it is at the Teiher station in the wilaya of Tlemcen where the large number of scorpions was collected about 90 individuals. According to the results of the outings and among the scorpions sampled, it appears that the animals belong to the Buthidae family of which 6 species have been identified namely: Androctonus amoreuxi, Androctonus australis, Buthus tuneatanus, Buthus oudjanii, Hottentotta franzwerneri and Orthochirus innesi. Concerning the Scorpionidae family, two species of which have been identified, namely: Scorpio maurus and Scorpio punicus. The largest species in size is Hottentota franzwerneri with a total length of 101 mm (cephalothorax 12 mm, abdomen 29 mm and tail 60 mm). Equitability is close to one for the Zebche station, we noticed at this station that the species tend to be in numerical equilibrium, however in the Teiher station, the fairness is zero which is a result of dominance of only one species.

Chedad AW, Hammou MA, Chelghoum H, Chedad A, Amara OO, El Bouhissi M, Dahmani W, Sadine SE. 2022. Diversity and distribution pattern of scorpions from the Ouarsenis massif of Tissemsilt, North-West Algeria. Biodiversitas 23: 2444-2450. Ecological barriers such as mountains are important factors leading to fragmentation of the range of different species and the important cause of vicariance events. Ouarsenis massif (Tissemsilt, North-West Algeria) is an important protected Park. This paper presents a preliminary study of scorpion diversity and assesses this biodiversity change in this Mountain range along a gradient of many ecological descriptors, including elevation, vegetation cover, slope, and soil types. During 2020 and 2021, we sampled 179 specimens of scorpions by direct hunting from the eight biotopes in Ouarsenis massif. Only adult individuals were used for identification after being killed and kept in 70% alcohol. Based on morphological criteria, we identified eight species distributed in two genera and two families. The family Buthidae was represented by five species with the highest relative abundance (RA) was Buthus tunetanus (RA: 47.49%). Furthermore, the family Scorpionidae was represented by three species with the highest RA was Scorpio maurus (RA: 25.14%). The Shannon index (H’: 2.71 bits) indicated that Ouarsenis massif region had a high level of scorpion diversity and the value of evenness (E: 0.90) reflected the high equilibrium between the effectiveness of sampled species. The main determinant descriptor of scorpion distribution was the elevation and soil types, while the vegetation cover could be considered an ancillary factor.

The Rough Bent-toed Gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden,1827) was recently recorded in Algeria, from the east part of countries. In this note, another new locality of this species in the central Algeria (Ghardaïa region), situated at 450 km west form the last locality, based on one specimen fond in Bord of Sebkhet. C. scabrum is listed as an invasive species and it was reported as a desert species, in our finding it was recorded in an important wetland (Sebkhet El Melah) which is classified in the Ramsar list in 2004, this statement proves once again the ecological plasticity of this species.

Scorpion fauna of Algeria is insufficiently known. This study was carried out to assess seasonal changes of the scorpion biodiversity at the region of Tebessa (northeastern Algeria) along a climatic gradient including semiarid, arid and desertic climates randomized sampling was carried out at three sites stratified according to a climatic gradient. Sites visits were carried out 16 times per year at each site for a period of 2 h for each field trip. The distribution of the scorpions was studied by ecological descriptors and by statistical analyzes. In this study, 257 scorpion specimens belonging to the families Buthidae (64%) and Scorpionidae (36%) were collected. The Buthidae family was represented by four species: Buthus tunetanus (Herbst, 1800) (26%), Buthus aures Lourenco, 2016 (21%), Androctonus australis Ewing, 1928 (14%) and Androctonus aeneas (Koch, 1839) (3%), while the Scorpionidae was represented by a single species, Scorpio punicus Fet, 2000, which was also the most abundant at 36%. Statistical models revealed that climatic gradient and seasonal variation significantly influenced the distribution and the biodiversity of scorpions and that ecological descriptors were strongly correlated with climatic gradient and seasonal variation. This work constitutes the first study carried out on the scorpion diversity in northeastern Algeria. Thus, planning of control programs for the species identified in this area is essential.

Since the early 2000s, the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (family Buthidae) has been the subject of an important number of studies. These concerned particularly the species belonging to the ‘Buthus occitanus’ complex. A number of populations previously considered as subspecies or varieties of B. occitanus Leach were raised to the rank of species, but also many new species have been described. Most of the species considered in these studies come from North Africa, in particular from Morocco, Mauritania, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, but only two new species were recorded from Algeria. At present, one more new species of Buthus is described from the Algerian Saharan Desert, raising the number of confirmed Buthus in Algeria to five. Since most Buthus species from North Africa, and in particular those from Algeria, inhabit more mesic environments than the Saharan Central compartment, the new species appears as the first true deserticolous species found in this country.

Taxonomic considerations are given for the genus Lissothus Vachon, 1948 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Two species are currently known, Lissothus bernardi Vachon, 1948 from Libya and Lissothus occidentalis Vachon, 1950 from Mauritania. In this contribution, a new species, Lissothus chaambi sp. n., is described from the desert of Central Algeria. The new species is most closely related to L. bernardi. The geographical distribution of the genus is discussed.