Cyclosa apoblepta (Rainbow, 1916) Rainbow, 1916

W. Framenau, Volker, 2019, Generic and family transfers, and numina dubia for orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) in the Australasian, Oriental and Pacific regions, Evolutionary Systematics 3 (1), pp. 1-27 : 5-6

Cyclosa apoblepta (Rainbow, 1916) comb. n. Fig. 3 A–E

Araneus apobleptus Rainbow, 1916a: 112-114, plate 22, figs 32-37; Bonnet 1955: 438.

Aranea apoblepta Rainbow. Roewer 1942: 824.

Type material.

Syntypes of Araneus apobleptus Rainbow, 1916: 2 & 4 males, 5 & 5 females of two different species (see below), [17°05'S, 145°46'E, Queensland, AUSTRALIA], May–July in 1912 and 1913; "from orbicular webs, and males chiefly by sweeping in forest and jungle. Two exemplars were taken from the window of a dwelling" ( Rainbow 1916b, p. 114) (AM KS6507) (examined).

Remarks.

The examination of the syntypes of Araneus apobleptus clearly showed that these specimens belong to the genus Cyclosa due to the shape of the cephalothorax and male and female genitalia. However, the type material represents two different species. Four of the 6 males and 5 of the 10 females (now separated from each other in the vial in the collection of the AM) very closely resemble C. insulana as illustrated in Levi (1977) (see Fig. 3 A–E), whereas the remaining specimens have a distinctly different genital morphology. It is beyond the scope of this study to elucidate the true identity of the syntypes of Araneus apobleptus , which requires a comprehensive revision of the Australian/Oriental Cyclosa and the designation of a lectotype for the species. As part of this review, I propose the transfer of this species to Cyclosa , Cyclosa apoblepta (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n. to facilitate the consideration of this species in a future treatment of the genus.