Karaops pilkingtoni Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 1C, D, Maps 1, 2

Karaops pilkingtoni Crews & Harvey, 2011: 64, figs 55-58 (♂, ♀, examined).

Diagnosis.

Karaops pilkingtoni (Fig. 1C, D) can be differentiated from almost all other members of the Central Desert species group by the embolus which is very short and in the middle of the bulb, rather than hooked and closer to the perimeter (Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 55). The differences between this species and K. kwartatuma sp. nov. are given below in the diagnosis of the new species. The female has very large, round accessory bulbs that nearly come into contact at the midline and are much bigger than the spermathecae, not found in other group members (Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 8).

Description.

The description of the male and female can be found in Crews and Harvey (2011).

Distribution.

The male and female are known only from the vicinity of Alice Springs, Northern Territory (Map 2).

Natural history.

The female (Fig. 1D) and the coordinates of the male (Fig. 1C) occur in the Hartz Range subregion of the MacDonnell Ranges. Trig Hill occurs in the MacDonnell subregion of the MacDonnell Ranges, though on the border of the Hartz Range subregion. The collections were made in May and June, a cooler, drier time of the year, transitioning from hotter and wetter (Suppl. material 2: table S1). The female was collected beneath rocks.

Discussion.

The holotype male of Karaops pilkingtoni (Fig. 1C) is from the Telegraph Station at Alice Springs. Despite looking around Trig Hill in Alice Springs, no selenopids were found. There is some confusion, though, because the latitude and longitude given on the label do not correspond to the locality given on the label, Trig Hill. The female (Fig. 1D) was matched with the male (Fig. 1C) based on the locality of the collections. With new data regarding the number of species that can occur in an area, it may be that this female is another species. For example, K. mparntwe sp. nov. is known from "Alice Springs", and that is all of the information provided for this specimen. Only additional collecting and molecular data will help determine species boundaries, and no taxonomic changes are made at this time.