Salsa brisbanae (L. Koch, 1867) Framenau & Castanheira, 2022

Framenau, Volker W. & Castanheira, Pedro de S., 2022, Revision of the new Australasian orb-weaving spider genus Salsa (Araneae, Araneidae), ZooKeys 1102, pp. 107-148 : 107

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1102.82388
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BCA0CCE5-141D-46DA-9D65-0DCA6B74DE69
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/564ED121-33E4-5DD0-8142-A4EC56E807A3
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Salsa brisbanae (L. Koch, 1867)
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Salsa brisbanae (L. Koch, 1867) View in CoL comb. nov.

Figs 5B View Figure 5 , 9A-D View Figure 9 , 10A-E View Figure 10 , 11 View Figure 11

Epeira brisbanae Koch 1867: 176-177; Koch 1872: 111-112, plate 6, fig. 4; Keyserling 1887: 161-164, plate 13, figs 6, 6a-d, 7, 7a.

Araneus brisbanae (L. Koch): Simon 1895: 804; Rainbow 1911: 183; Dalmas 1917: 387-388.

Araneus brisbanensis (L. Koch): Bonnet 1955: 448.

Type specimen.

Holotype of Epeira brisbanae L. Koch, 1872, female, Brisbane (27°28'S, 153°01'E, Queensland, Australia) (ZMH ( Rack 1961)-catalogue no. 226). Examined.

Other material examined.

57 males, 208 females (2 with egg sac), 39 juveniles (in 146 records) (see Suppl. material 1).

Diagnosis.

Male S. brisbanae comb. nov. can be distinguished from all other Salsa gen. nov. species by the unique morphology of the pedipalp median apophysis that has a very acute, basally pointed tip (Fig. 9C View Figure 9 ) (median apophysis generally rounded C-shaped in all other species). Female genitalia are probably most similar to those of S. Salsa canalae comb. nov., but the scape of S. brisbanae comb. nov. is shorter than the epigyne plate (Fig. 10C View Figure 10 ), whereas it is longer than the plate in S. canalae comb. nov. (Fig. 13C, D View Figure 13 ).

Redescription.

Male (based on NHMD 12231). Total length 4.4. Carapace 2.3 long, 1.9 wide, dark brown, slightly paler anteriorly (Fig. 9A View Figure 9 ). Eye diameter AME 0.12, ALE 0.11, PME 0.14, PLE 0.09; row of eyes: AME 0.32, PME 0.33, PLE 0.90. Chelicerae pale brown; with three promarginal teeth (median largest) and three retromarginal teeth (basal largest). Legs brown, femora basally yellow-brown (Fig. 9A, B View Figure 9 ). Leg formula I> II> IV> III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 2.5 + 1.1 + 2.0 + 1.6 + 0.7 = 7.9, II - 2.2 + 1.0 + 1.4 + 1.5 + 0.6 = 6.7, III - 1.4 + 0.6 + 0.7 + 0.7 + 0.5 = 3.9, IV - 2.0 + 0.7 + 1.3 + 1.4 + 0.6 = 6.0. Labium 0.27 long, 0.35 wide, brown; endites beige (Fig. 9B View Figure 9 ). Sternum 1.1 long, 0.7 wide, dark brown with black radial shading (Fig. 9B View Figure 9 ). Abdomen 2.1 long, 1.7 wide, posteriorly pointed; dorsum with beige background and large, irregular, olive-grey, folium, laterally pale olive-grey with black streaks (Fig. 9A View Figure 9 ); venter dark grey, laterally with two elongate white bands (Fig. 9B View Figure 9 ). Pedipalp (Fig. 9C, D View Figure 9 ) length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + cymbium = total length): 0.3 + 0.2 + 0.1 + 0.65 = 1.25; paracymbium strong and curved apically; median apophysis transverse, terminating in an acute and basally pointed tip; denticles in basal arch of median apophysis distinct; conductor lobe narrow; terminal apophysis enlarged, sub-rectangular, bearing a reduced basal prong; conductor bilobed; embolus short, heavily sclerotised.

Female (based on AM KS.131087): Total length 6.9. Carapace 3.0 long, 2.3 wide; dark brown, cephalic area paler (Fig. 10A View Figure 10 ). Eye diameter AME 0.14, ALE 0.09, PME 0.07, PLE 0.07; row of eyes: AME 0.41, PME 0.38, PLE 1.35. Chelicerae orange-brown, four promarginal teeth (apical and second basal largest) and three retromarginal teeth of similar size. Legs brown, patellae and tibiae apically slightly darker (Fig. 10A, B View Figure 10 ). Pedipalp length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + tarsus = total length): 0.9 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 1.0 = 2.9. Leg formula I> II> IV> III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 2.4 + 1.1 + 1.8 + 1.9 + 0.9 = 8.1, II - 2.1 + 1.1 + 1.5 + 1.7 + 0.7 = 7.1, III - 1.2 + 0.7 + 0.8 + 0.8 + 0.5 = 4.0, IV - 2.1 + 1.0 + 1.4 + 1.5 + 0.6 = 6.6. Labium 0.36 long, 0.59 wide, dark brown; endites dark brown (Fig. 10B View Figure 10 ). Sternum 1.3 long, 1.1 wide, orange-brown, with some paler discolourations (Fig. 10B View Figure 10 ). Abdomen 4.7 long, 4.6 wide; dorsum beige with olive-brown folium, laterally covered by orange-brown streaks (Fig. 10A View Figure 10 ); venter olive-grey centrally with paler mottles, laterally with elongate white bands (Fig. 10B View Figure 10 ). Epigyne base almost circular, slightly wider than long, with narrow elevated borders and therefore atrium extends almost over whole base (Fig. 10C View Figure 10 ); scape slightly less than half of epigyne base, slightly wrinkled and its sides parallel (Fig. 10C View Figure 10 ); central division wide and abruptly tapering dorsally; spermathecae narrow pointing apically (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 ).

Variation.

Only one other male was measured, total length 3.9; females total lengths 6.9-7.9 (n = 4). Like in other species of the genus, the colour variations in S. brisbanae comb. nov. can be considerable and range from pale to dark brown tones in live specimens with the folium pattern on the abdomen more or less distinct.

Life history and habitat preferences.

Male and female specimens of S. brisbanae comb. nov. have mainly been found between October and May, with only few specimens collected from June to September. Although mature spiders can therefore be found all year round, the species should be considered as mainly late-summer to autumn mature. Most specimens were apparently collected on leaves and bark as labels indicate sweeping and beating as the main collection techniques that were used to capture the spiders.

Salsa brisbanae comb. nov. does not seem to be very habitat-specific, with specimens being collected in completely different environments, mostly in lower vegetation. Habitat descriptions on labels with specimens include “rainforest”, “shrubs”, “grass”, and “foliage”; but also “dune” and "lagoon vegetation". Plant species that were cited at collection sites include Acacia longifolia (long-leaved wattle), Leptospermum laevigatum (coast tea tree), and Monotoca elliptica (tree broom heath).

Distribution.

Salsa brisbanae comb. nov. occurs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania (Fig. 11 View Figure 11 ). The species was recorded by Keyserling (1887) from New Zealand (see also Dalmas 1917), but this record is likely based on a misidentification ( Paquin et al. 2008). The species was apparently also recorded from Papua New Guinea ( World Spider Catalog 2022), but we could not find any original citation that suggests this distribution.