Austropholcomma walpole Rix & Harvey, 2010

Rix, Michael & Harvey, Mark, 2010, The spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneoidea): a relimitation and revision at the generic level, ZooKeys 36 (36), pp. 1-321 : 32-33

Austropholcomma walpole Rix & Harvey , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EC837C80-F60C-480F-9650-305D9AD1AC8D

Figs 33C , 34–35 , 214

Type material. Holotype male: Walpole-Nornalup National Park , Giant Tingle Area, 8 km NE. of Walpole, Western Australia, Australia, mixed Eucalyptus litter, 19.XII.1976, J. Kethley ( WAM T94438).

Paratypes: Allotype female, same data as holotype ( WAM T94439); 3 males and 18 females, same data as holotype ( WAM T94440); 2 males and 6 females, same data as holotype ( FMC) .

Other material examined. AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Anderson Road, near Valley of the Giants Road, 120 m, Tingle- Allocasuarina -Karri ( Eucalyptus diversicolor ) forest, Berlese leaf and bark litter, 34°59'29"S, 116°52'21"E, 2.VIII.2004, Newton, Thayer et al., 6♁, 12♀ ( FMC); Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Anderson Road, near Valley of the Giants Road, Tingle-Karri forest, leaf litter Tullgren funnel, 34°59'32"S, 116°52'17"E, 3.V.2008, M. Rix, M. Harvey, 2♁, 4♀ ( WAM T94460); Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Shedley Drive, fungi and bark litter, 22.VI.1980, S. & J. Peck, 1♁ ( AMNH); Mount Frankland National Park, Mount Frankland, 29 km N. of Walpole, unburned litter below switch-back in Forestry Road, 15.XII.1976, J. Kethley, 1♁, 2♀ ( FMC); same data, 3♁, 12♀ ( FMC); same data, 7♁, 19♀ ( FMC).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, taken from the type locality.

Diagnosis. Males and females of Austropholcomma walpole can be distinguished from A. florentine by the presence of only six eyes ( Fig. 34C ), with the AME reduced to barely-visible vestigial eye spots.

Description. Holotype male: Total length 0.67. Carapace 0.31 long, 0.25 wide. Abdomen 0.45 long, 0.36 wide. Leg I femur 0.24. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites, legs tan-yellow; abdomen cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Six eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; AME reduced to barely-visible vestigial eye spots; PME separated by their own diameter. Chelicerae each with large, bulging anterior projection; promargin with single peg tooth and modified, proximally-flattened peg tooth-like seta projecting from fused setal socket. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.77); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval-globose, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute large, covering most of dorsal surface of abdomen; lateral sclerotic strips present. Pedipalpal patella with distally-directed, flanged lRPA and large, flange-like distal apophysis; tegulum smooth, without processes, with curved ETR; embolus long (length> 5× width), bifurcate, with proximal portion looping once around margin of tegulum, distal portion coiled and intertwined ( Fig. 35 ).

Allotype female: Total length 0.71. Carapace 0.31 long, 0.25 wide. Abdomen 0.51 long, 0.40 wide. Leg I femur 0.22. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites, legs tan-yellow; abdomen cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Six eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; AME reduced to barely-visible vestigial eye spots; PME separated by slightly less than their own diameter. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femurcarapace ratio 0.71); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval-globose, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute absent; lateral sclerotic strips present. Pedipalp very small, vestigial, three-segmented. Epigyne with distinctive external morphology ( Fig. 34D ); spermathecae globular, ‘tear-drop’ shaped; insemination ducts coiled around arched fertilisation ducts, insemination ducts with sclerotised proximal portion and expanded, membranous distal portion ( Fig. 33C ).

Distribution. Known only from the far south coast of south-western Western Australia, in the area immediately surrounding Walpole (Walpole-Nornalup National Park and Mount Frankland National Park) (Fig. 214).

Remarks. Austropholcomma walpole appears to be a short-range endemic taxon ( Harvey 2002), and is probably restricted to the tall, wet, Karri and Tingle ( Eucalyptus spp.) forests surrounding Walpole. The species occurs in sympatry with several other micropholcommatine and taphiassine species, and shares a similar, southern coastal distribution with Micropholcomma linnaei (see Rix 2008) and Normplatnicka barrettae sp. n. (see below) (Fig. 214).

Figures

Figure 33. Austropholcomma, Tricellina species, female cleared receptacula, dorsal view: A–B, paratype A. florentine sp. n. from the Florentine Valley, Tasmania (FMC) C paratype A. walpole sp. n. from Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Western Australia (WAM T94440) D T. gertschi (Forster & Platnick) from south of Chaitén, Chile (AMNH). Arrows indicate the trajectory of insemination ducts. Scale bar = 0.065 mm (65 µm).

Figure 34. Austropholcomma walpole sp. n. from Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Western Australia. A, C holotype male (WAM T94438):A habitus, dorsal view C cephalothorax, frontal view.B, D allotype female (WAM T94439): B habitus, dorsal view D abdomen, ventral view.

Figure 35. Austropholcomma walpole sp. n., paratype male from Walpole-Nornalup National Park, Western Australia (WAM T94440): A left pedipalp, ventral view B left pedipalp, retrolateral view. Scale bar = 0.065 mm (65 µm).