Maratus eliasi Baehr & Whyte

Baehr, Barbara C. & Whyte, Robert, 2016, The Peacock Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae: Maratus) of the Queensland Museum, including six new species, Zootaxa 4154 (5), pp. 501-525 : 515-518

Maratus eliasi Baehr & Whyte , sp. nov.

( FIGURES 11 A, D, G, 12A‒I)

Material examined. MALE HOLOTYPE (QM-S96335) from Australia, Queensland, Nuga Nuga National Park , 24°59’S, 148°40’E, M. Girard and D. Elias, 20 Oct. 2015, hand coll . PARATYPES: 1 male (QM-S73641) from Australia, Queensland, Boomer Ra. Mongrel Scub, 23°12’S, 149°46’E, G. Monteith, 16 Dec. 1999 ‒ 22 Mar. 2000, intercept.

Records. 1 male, Australia, Queensland, Tregole National Park , 26°29’S, 147°06’E, M. Girard and D. Elias, 20 Oct. 2015, hand coll, deposited in M. Girard’s collection.

Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honour of Dr Damian Elias, who helped to discover new populations of M. eliasi while assisting his wife, Madeline Girard who was collecting specimens for her PhD work.

Diagnosis. M. eliasi belongs to the digitatus group in having inflatable spinnerets ( Fig. 12 A) M. eliasi is closely related to M. digitatus (mentioned in Otto & Hill, 2015: fig. 37 as Maratus cf. digitatus ) sharing a nearly identical prosomal colour pattern and in having a larger pair of semicircular, iridescent, flaps which are uniformly dark green in M. digitatus .

M. eliasi can be separated from M. digitatus by its opisthosomal colour pattern (golden and striped flaps) ( Fig. 12 A) and its shorter embolic tip ( Figs 11 B, E).

Description. Male (Holotype, QM-S96335). Total length 3.98. Prosoma 2.12 long, 1.60 wide, pl/pw 1.32; sternum 0.91 long, 0.52 wide, sl/sw 1.75; abdomen 1.86 long, 1.44 wide; abdomen wider than long when inflated, (ol/ow 0.68; QM-S73641). Ocular quadrangle 0.93 long. Anterior eye row 1.51, posterior eye row 1.54 wide. AME largest; posterior eye group width 0.92 of caput width; AME 0.47; ALE 0.27; PME 0.23; PLE 0.08; AME‒AME 0.04; AME‒ALE 0.03; PME‒PME 1.19; PME‒PLE 0.180; ALE‒PLE 0.22. Clypeus 0.22 high. Paturon with no promarginal teeth and one retromarginal tooth. Length of leg III, femur: 1.54, patella: 0.65, tibia: 0.88, metatarsus: 0.75, tarsus: 0.52; metatarsus III 0.85 the length of tibia III. Leg formula: 3421. Prosoma dark brown; ocular quadrangle covered with golden setae scattered with white setae forming three bands, sides with a fringe, a posterior median patch and two lateral patches of white setae; AME and ALE dorsally with a fringe of golden setae, ventrally with a fringe of white setae. Endites distally pale; labium, chelicerae and sternum medium brown with darker reticulation; opisthosoma bluish iridescent, a dancing monster with a red head and arms and blue eyes when seen from the front, flaps golden with one black and two white stripes; venter pale. Leg I‒IV covered with white setae; tibiae and metatarsi I‒IV dark brown tarsi I‒IV pale. Male palp ( Figs 11 A, D, G, 12G‒I): cymbium short, 1.6 times longer than wide, covered with white setae, prolateral distal half with stronger dark satae; tip stout with distal scopula. Embolic disc wider than long, with broad, flat front and flat retrolateral groove; with few small tooth-like denticules at the retrocentral part of the disc; embolus tip with triangular retrolateral ridge embolic opening pipe or chimney-shaped; finger-like lateral process of embolic disc with pancake-stack shaped retrolateral ridges; tegular shoulder with cone-shaped lamella (LTS); retrobasal tegular lobe (TL) with broader tip only prolateral side concave ( Fig. 12 H); patella and tibia covered with long white setae covering 1/2 of the cymbium retolaterally; retrolateral tibial apophysis narrow, finger-shaped.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Known only from Queensland.

Figures

FIGURE 11 (A ‒ I). Maratus digitatus group males: A, D, G, M. eliasi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96335); B, E, H, M. ottoi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96332); C, F, I, Maratus digitatus Otto & Hill, 2012 (QM-S 47268); A ‒ C, palpal tip with embolic disc; D ‒ F, embolic disc frontal view; G ‒ I, palpal tip retrolateral view, embolic disc with flat retrolateral groove and finger shaped lateral process of embolic disc with pancake-stack shaped retrolateral ridges.

FIGURE 12 (A ‒ I). Maratus eliasi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. male holotype (QM-S 96335). A, live photo (photo: Michael Duncan); B, habitus, dorsal view (QM-S 73641); C ‒ I, (QM-S 96335), C, habitus, ventral view; D, prosoma, anterior view; E, habitus, lateral view; F, right III leg, prolateral view; G, male palp, prolateral view; H, same, ventral view; I, same, retrolateral view.