Abba transversa (Rainbow, 1912) comb. nov.

Figs 1A-D, 2A-B, 3, 4A-E, 5

Araneus transversus Rainbow, 1912: 197-198, fig. 14 (male; figs 11-13 and the description of the female are a misidentification, this is Gea theridioides); Rainbow 1916: 101; Bonnet 1955: 614; Davies and Gallon 1986: 233.

Type material.

Lectotype (designated here) of Araneus transversus Rainbow, 1912: male, Blackall Ranges, Queensland, Australia, 26°34'S, 152°52'E, C. J. Wild (QM W2123), examined. Paralectotype female, same data as lectotype (QM W2126), examined. Misidentification, this is Gea theridioides (Davies & Gallon, 1986; VWF pers. obs.).

Other material examined.

Australia: New South Wales: 2 males, Jamberoo Mountain, 34°40'S, 150°43'E (AM KS.54091, KS.53307) . Queensland: 1 female, 5 juv., Chelsea Road Bushland Reserve, 27°28'58"S, 153°11'15"E (QM S77272) ; 1 male, 1 female, 1 juv., Gold Creek Reservoir, Brookfield, 27°27'53"S, 152°52'32"E (QM S88101) ; 1 juv., J.C. Trotter Reserve, Burbank, 27°33'08"S, 153°10'31"E (WAM T84345); 1 male, Lamington National Park, 28°12'S, 153°10'E (QM S29181) ; 1 male, Spear Creek near Mt Molloy, 16°42'S, 145°24'E (QM S88102) ; 2 males, Topaz, Hughes Road, 17°26'S, 145°42'E (QM S59680) .

Diagnosis.

As for the genus, which is monotypic.

Redescription.

Male (based on QM S8810; expanded pedipalp is QM S59680): Total length 3.1. Carapace 1.2 long, 1.1 wide, yellow (Fig. 1A). Eye diameter AME 0.13, ALE 0.09, PME 0.11, PLE 0.08; row of eyes: AME 0.31, PME 0.32, PLE 0. 60. Chelicerae light yellow, fangs orange (Fig. 1B). Labium 0.14 long, 0.25 wide, subtriangular and yellow, maxillae yellow (Fig. 1B). Sternum 0.6 long, 0.5 wide, yellow with sparse setae (Fig. 1B). Legs yellow, with first femur ventrally mottled in grey, and first tibia bearing a set of five strong and long prolateral macrosetae (Figs 1A, B, 3); length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 1.1 + 0.5 + 1.0 + 0.8 +0.5 = 3.9, II - 1.0 + 0.4 + 0.6 + 0.6 + 0.5 = 3.1, III - 0.9 + 0.3 + 0.4 + 0.5 + 0.4 = 2.5, IV - 1.1 + 0.4 + 0.8 + 0.8 + 0.5 = 3.6. Abdomen 1.9 long, 1.5 wide, dorsum grey, with scattered, small white spots, and a pair of median large dark spots (Fig. 1A); laterally off-white; venter grey centrally covered by guanine crystals (Fig. 1B). Pedipalp (Figs 1C, D, 2A, B): length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + cymbium = total length): 0.3 + 0.2 + 0.1 + 0.3 = 0.9; description as for genus.

Female (based on QM S8810): Total length 4.2. Carapace 1.6 long, 1.1 wide; yellow with dusky borders (Fig. 4A). Eye diameter AME 0.09, ALE 0.07, PME 0.08, PLE 0.08; row of eyes: AME 0.28, PME 0.33, PLE 0.66. Chelicerae of similar colour and dentition as male (Fig. 4B). Legs of similar colour as male, covered with thin setae (Fig. 4A, B). Pedipalp: length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + tarsus = total length): 0.3 + 0.1 + 0.2 + 0.5 = 1.1. Leg formula I> IV> II> III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 1.1 + 0.5 + 1.1 + 1.0 + 0.5 = 4.2, II - 1.0 + 0.4 + 1.0 + 1.0 + 0.4 = 3.8, III - 0.6 + 0.3 + 0.4 + 0.4 + 0.3 = 2.0, IV - 1.0 + 0.4 + 1.0 + 0.9 + 0.6 = 3.9. Labium 0.16 long, 0.27 wide, similar colour as male (Fig. 4B). Sternum 0.7 long, 0.6 wide, similar colour as male (Fig. 4B). Abdomen 2.6 long, 2.2 wide, dorsum off-white with a pair of two median dark spots proportionally smaller than in male (Fig. 4A); lateral and ventral parts similar to those of male (Fig. 4B). Epigyne (Fig. 4C-E) same as for genus.

Variation.

Males (total length 3.0-3.3, n = 4). Live images of Abba transversa comb. nov. have been published online (e.g., http://www.findaspider.org.au/find/spiders/131.htm; accessed 30 October 2022). The cephalothorax, legs and ventral abdomen are green in live specimens, and the eye region is somewhat yellowish.

Remarks.

Davies and Gallon (1986, p. 233) in a catalog of type specimens of the Queensland Museum firstly realized that the female syntype of Araneus transversus is in fact Gea theridioides and somewhat cryptically proposed a new synonymy ("#f = Gea theridioides (L. Koch) n. syn. - V.T.D"). This taxonomic act, however, was not accompanied by the necessary designation of the female as a lectotype. Later cataloguers apparently did not accept this synonymy, and A. transversus is still listed as valid species (World Spider Catalog 2022). We here designate the male syntype as the lectotype of A. transversus to fix the species-group name of the species and thereby reject Davies and Gallon’s (1986) synonymy.

Life history and habitat preferences.

At the Proserpine River, Queensland, Abba transversa comb. nov. was found sweeping foliage and grass in an open forest (Rainbow 1916). A single label in the material examined read "coastal ironbark". Mature males and females were generally collected from November to January, except for a male, female and juvenile collected between June and July. The species appears to be largely summer-mature.

Distribution.

We examined museum material from northern to south-eastern Queensland and southern New South Wales (Fig. 5). There are records from Victoria on iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/533368-Araneus-transversus; accessed 22 July 2022) that may represent this species, but without examination of genitalia an identification cannot be ascertained; these records may represent a second congeneric species.