Borrala, Gray & Smith, 2004

Gray, M. R. & Smith, H. M., 2004, The “ Striped ” Group of Stiphidiid Spiders: Two New Genera from Northeastern New South Wales, Australia (Araneae: Stiphidiidae: Amaurobioidea), Records of the Australian Museum 56 (1), pp. 123-138 : 123-138

Borrala n.gen.

Type species. Borraladorrigo n.sp.

Etymology. Thegeneric nameis anAboriginalwordmeaning the head of a spear, a reference to the tapering shape of the retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA). The gender is female.

Diagnosis. Cribellate spiders. Carapace with longitudinal pigment stripes; profile highest at fovea. PME largest or subequalto AME in males. Posterior eyeswith grate-shaped tapeta. Feathery hairs abundant. Cymbium with retrolateral flange, often weakly developed. Tegular lobe broad, usually basal. MA large, bipartite, with fleshy and sclerotized processes. Tibia with a large, pointed RTA, and a long, stalked (“crochet-hook”) RVTA. Epigynumwithapit-like fossa, often narrowest anteriorly; spermathecae behind fossa.

Separated from Pillara by the presence of an undivided RTA and a bipartite MA, and from other “striped” genera by the elongate RVTA and the broad tegular lobe; separated from Therlinya and Taurongia Hogg by the stripedcarapace highest at fovea, and the relatively larger eyes; separated from Stiphidion Simon by eye rows not recurved.

Description. Medium-sized cribellate spiders (CL 1.92– 3.31) which build suspended, semi-horizontal sheet webs with a shallow retreat tunnel; spiders run underneath sheet. Colour pattern ( Fig. 1a ; in alcohol): carapace light amberbrown, darker in front and on jaws, with narrow, grey marginal bands; eyes surrounded by black pigment, eye region dark grey with a pair of dorsolateral dark grey stripes, narrowerand lighter anteriorly, darker and wider posteriorly, converging at or coalescing through the foveal region. Dorsal abdomen greyish-brown, with anterior, short, grey middorsalstripe, narrowor indistinct, setinpalerlateralchevron patches continuing in decreasing size posteriorly; sides with mosaic of pale brown and grey patches, separated from grey venterbytwo pale, ventrolateral, longitudinal stripes; legswith distinct grey-brown bands on femora, weaker on tibiae.

Carapace with narrow, prominent caput; highest at fovea and, especially in males, rather flattened above and sloping markedlyupward to fovea; foveal slit long and deep, curving down onto concave rear slope of carapace ( Fig. 1c,d ). Clypeus about 1.5× widthof an AME. Chilum an undivided, median plate ( Fig. 1e ). Eyes eight, relatively large (cf. Therlinya ), EGW three-quarters width of caput; eyes in two rows, from above AER recurved, PER procurved; eyes subequal, ALE smallest: male, AME PME>PLE>ALE; female, PME AME PLE>ALE. MOQ almost square, slightly narrower anteriorly ( Fig. 1e ). Posterior eyes with grate-shaped tapeta. Chelicerae vertical, with boss, paturon retromargin with one long, modified seta near base of each fang, numerous modified setae along promargin; fang groove with 2 retromarginal and 3 promarginal teeth, last promarginal tooth extended as a strong carina ( Fig. 1b ). Maxillae longer than wide, lateral margins weakly undulate to straight, strong linear serrula present. Labium length/ width subequal, narrower & truncateapically, basally shortly excavated. Sternum slightly longer than wide, shortly pointed between coxa IV ( Fig. 1f ). Body and legs with numerous plumose and feathery hairs ( Fig. 2b ).

Legs slender, typically 1423 or 1243. Trochanters notched. Legs with feathery and plumose hairs, the latter either long, vertical to strongly angled distad, or shorter and curved ( Fig. 2a,b,e ); apicaltarsuswith toothedplumose hairsaround claws ( Fig. 2c,d ). Spines: at least tibiae I & II lacking apical, paired ventral spines. Representativeleg spination ( B. dorrigo ): Male (KS70124) - I: femur d122, p011; tibia d0010, v220, p101, r01010; metatarsus d2012, v221, p0101, r0101. II: femur d1202, p011; patella 001; tibiad0010, v220, p1010, r01010; metatarsus d2102, v221, p0101, r0101. III: femur d1202, p0111; patella 001; tibiad1010, v111, p0110, r0110; metatarsus d212, v221, p0101, r0101. IV: femur d1012, p001; patella 001; tibia d1010, v112, p11, r011; metatarsus d2022, v221, p0101, r0001. Female (KS70125)-I: femur d112, p011; tibiad001, v220, p1110, r1010; metatarsus d012, v221, p0101, r0101. II: femur d122, p0111; tibiad001, v220, p1110, r101; metatarsus d012, v221, p101, r101. III: femur d122, p0111; patella 001; tibia d101, v110, p0110, r0110; metatarsus d212, v221, p011, r011. IV: femur d112, p001; patella 001; tibiad101, v110, p101, r0110; metatarsus d222, v211, p0101, r001. Threetarsal claws: superior 10–11 teeth, inferior 2–3 teeth. Female palpal tarsi spinose; palpal clawwith 9 teeth. Clawtuftsandscopulae absent. Trichobothria increasing in length distally, in single rowon tarsi (5) andmetatarsi (5–6); tworowson tibia; present onmaleand femalepalpal tarsusand tibia. Bothria collariform, proximal plate longitudinally ridged ( Fig. 2f ). Tarsal organ capsulate, finely longitudinally ridged, with pyriform to keyhole shaped pore ( Fig. 2g ), placed distal to trichobothria.

Male palp ( Figs. 4a,b , 7a,b ). Cymbium with a narrow flange retrolaterally and a short, coniform apex with 1–3 bristles or bristle-like spines. Tegulum with a broad tegular lobe, bluntly rounded distally and abutting the subtegulum prolaterally. Sperm duct visible as a long, rather thick, S- shaped duct looping across the basal half of the tegulum. Embolus a curved, thick, marginal rod, taperingor flattened distally, origin prolateral to basal. Conductor a thick stalk, curved retrolaterally, or weakly T-shaped, apical area with deep embolic groove and variably thickened and enlarged. Tegular window moderate-small in size, prolaterally placed. MA retrolateral to conductor base; bipartite, with a prominent, fleshy lobe ventral to a sclerotized, hooked dorsal process. Tibia longer than wide, with 2–3 long prolateral bristles and two large apophyses: RVTA arising apically, long and stalk-like with a beaked, knob-like head; RTA arising sub-apically, large and spine-shaped. Patella usually slightly longer than wide ( Fig. 7b ), but longer in B. longipalpis ( Fig. 6b ).

Epigynum ( Figs. 4c , 6c ) moderately sclerotized, fossa an unpaired pit, either ovoid or trapezium-shaped and narrowest anteriorly. Lateralteethandlobesabsent. Internalgenitalia ( Fig. 4d ) simple, with a pair of short, very broad copulatory ducts opening along each side of the fossa; and a pair of globose spermathecae, in contact or subadjacent medially, and placed posterior to the fossa (visible through cuticle).

Trachealsystemsimple, withfourunbranchedtrachealtubes confined to the abdomen. Spiracle just anterior to cribellum and almost half as wide as cribellum plate ( Fig. 3b ). Calamistrum about 0.4× length of metatarsus, subproximalcentral, delimited at each end by a retrodorsal spine; weakly developed in male. Spinning organs ( Fig. 3a–f , female).

Cribellarplate bipartite, eachspinningfieldover 4× aswideas long andseparated bya wideseam (half of afield wide); seam andposteriorplatemargin stronglysclerotized, lattermedially indented. In male, cribellum almost as wide as in female with small, non-functional fields. Spinnerets relatively short. ALS and PLS 2-segmented, latterslightly longer; PMS 1-segmented, shortest;ALSbroad withveryshortapicalsegmentwith broad margins; PLS slender with moderately long, conical apical segment. Spigots ( B. dorrigo ). ALS: 2 MAP spigots, mesal, adjacent, size unequal; c. 28 piriform spigots. PMS: 3 fused paracribellar bases grouped antero-ectally, with 5–6, 8 and 6–

8 spigots; 1 mAP, mesal; 6 aciniform spigots (1 anterior, rest distributed); 1 cylindrical spigot, postero-ectal. PLS: c. 18 aciniform spigots, distributed; 1 subapical “modified PLS” spigot flanked by 3 paracribellar spigots, all free; 2 cylindrical spigots (1 basal, 1 subapical).

Included species. Borrala dorrigo , B. webbi , B. yabbra , B. longipalpis .

Distribution. Northeastern New South Wales, Australia.

Comments. Three species, B. longipalpis , B. dorrigo and B. yabbra , show increased size and complexity of the distal conductor and flattening of the distal embolus, in contrast to the relatively unmodified conductor and embolus in B. webbi , the most southern species of the genus.

Several long, slender, basally placed spigots were noted on the PLS. These spigots, termed “long aciniform” here, are larger than the typical, distributed aciniform spigots (termed “short aciniform”). Such long spigots are similarly present in Pillara , Therlinya and Taurongia but they are most numerous and distributed in the Stiphidion PLS.

Males

Figures

Fig. 1. Borrala dorrigo n.sp. (a) body, dorsal; (b) cheliceral teeth; (c,d) carapace, lateral: (c) female, (d) male; (e), carapace, frontal (eyes, chilum); (f), sternum, mouthparts and coxae, ventral. Scale lines: a,c–f 1.0 mm, b 0.25 mm. Specimens: a,e–f female KS70125, b,c female KS60712, d male KS70124.

Fig. 2. Borrala dorrigo n.sp. (a–g) sensilla and claws, female KS60712, leg I: (a) tarsus, dorsal, hair types and tarsal organ; (b) metatarsus, dorsal, hair types; (c) tarsal claws and toothed hairs; (d) toothed hair and tarsal claw teeth; (e) tarsus, ventral, hair types; (f) trichobothrium base; (g) tarsal organ.

Fig. 4. Borrala dorrigo n.sp. (a,b) Male palp (KS77105): (a) ventral, (b) retrolateral. (c–d) Female epigynum (KS70126): (c) ventral, (d) dorsal-internal genitalia. Scale line 0.5 mm. Co conductor; CyF cymbial flange; E embolus; MA median apophysis; TL tegular lobe; TW tegular window; RTA retrolateral tibial apophysis; RVTA retrolateral ventral tibial apophysis.

Fig. 7. Borrala webbi n.sp. (a,b) Male palp (KS43507): (a) ventral, (b) retrolateral. Scale line 0.5 mm.

Fig. 6. Borrala longipalpis n.sp. (a,b) Male palp (KS48845): (a) ventral, (b) retrolateral.

Fig. 3. Borrala dorrigo n.sp. (a–f) spinnerets, female KS60712: (a) spinning field (cribellum below); (b) cribellum and spiracle; (c–f) spigots: (c) ALS, (d) PMS, (e) PLS, (f) detail of PLS apex with modified PLS spigot. Spigots: MAP major ampullate, mAP minor ampullate, Cyl cylindrical, mPLS modified posterior lateral spinneret, Pc paracribellar, sAc short aciniform, lAc long aciniform.