Karaops ellenae Crews & Harvey, 2011

Crews, Sarah C., 2023, But wait, there's more! Descriptions of new species and undescribed sexes of flattie spiders (Araneae, Selenopidae, Karaops) from Australia, ZooKeys 1150, pp. 1-189 : 1

Karaops ellenae Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 7D, E , Map 3

Karaops ellenae Crews & Harvey, 2011: 76, figs 73-76 (♂, ♀, examined).

New records.

Western Australia • 1♂; Mount Cooke; 32°25'S, 116°18'E; 7 Aug. 1990; M.S. Harvey, J.M. Waldock, M. Peterson leg.; by hand; (WAM T28044) • 1♂; Wungong Dam; 32°11'42"S, 116°03'33"E; 14 Aug. 2010; F. Stahlavsky leg.; under stone; (WAM T104353) • same as previous; (WAM T104354) • same as previous; (WAM T104355) • 3♂; Jarrahdale area, ALCOA mine lease; 32°16'S, 116°06'E; 1997-1998; K.E.C. Brennan leg.; (WAM T113262) • 1 imm.; Serpentine; 32°22'S, 115°59'E; 1 Jun. 1927; L. Glauert leg.; by hand; under stone; (WAM T1586) • same as previous; (WAM T1587) • same as previous; (WAM T1588) • same as previous; (WAM T1589) • 1 imm.; Canning Dam; 32°09'S, 116°08'E; 20 Jul. 1985; D. Mead-Hunter leg.; (WAM T28032) • 1 imm.; Mount Cooke; 32°25'S, 116°18'E; 19 Sep. 1991; M.S. Harvey, J.M. Waldock leg.; by hand; under rock; (WAM T28041) • same as previous; 7 Aug. 1990; M.S. Harvey, J.M. Waldock, M. Peterson leg.; by hand; (WAM T28046) • same as previous; (WAM T28047) • same as previous; (WAM T28049) • 1 imm.; Mt. Dale; 32°08'S, 116°18'E; 27 Oct. 1998; J.M. Waldock et al. leg.; by hand; under rocks; (WAM T54981) • 1 imm.; ~ 15 km NW of Boddington Town; 32°39'45.3"S, 116°23'31.7"E; 23 Aug. 2011; A. Rakimov leg.; hand collection; granite outcrop; (WAM T117038) • 1 imm.; ~ 15 km NW of Boddington Town; 32°41'09.9"S, 116°27'10.6"E; 23 Aug. 2011; A. Rakimov leg.; hand collection; granite outcrop; (WAM T117039) • 3 imm.; same as previous; (WAM T119537) • 4 imm.; ~ 15 km NW of Boddington Town; 32°37'28.4"S, 116°20'54.4"E; 23 Aug. 2011; A. Rakimov leg.; hand collection; granite outcrop; (WAM T119538) • 1♀, 1 imm.; Toodyay; 31°33'S, 116°30'E; 25 Oct. 2009; J. Hynes leg.; on stones; (WAM T142633) • 1♀, 1 imm; ~ 15 km NW of Boddington Town; 32°41'09.9"S, 116°27'10.6"E; 23 Aug. 2011; A. Rakimov leg.; hand collection; granite outcrop; (WAM T119536).

Diagnosis.

Like other members of the Karaops strayamate species group, the male has a small tegular lobe and a long, thin embolus that follows the perimeter of the bulb. The median apophysis is larger and irregularly shaped rather than hooked like those of Karaops gangarie and K. strayamate sp. nov., and the conductor of K. ellenae has a pointed projection terminally that extends beyond the cymbium ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 73).

The female has highly coiled ducts connecting the spermathecae and the accessory bulbs as in the other members of this species group; however, the epigyne is not indented along the bottom edge, there is no clear separation of the lateral lobes, and the accessory bulbs extend anteriorly beyond the coiled ducts, which they do not in the other species ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 9-12, 15, 16).

Description.

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

Distribution.

This species is found near the west coast of southwestern Western Australia, primarily west of the Darlington Escarpment (Map 3 ).

Natural history.

Karaops ellenae (Fig. 7B, D ) occurs in the Northern Jarrah subregion of the Jarrah bioregion, with a few collections from the Perth subregion of the Swan Coastal Plain, one record further south from the Warren subregion and bioregion, and one from the Avon Wheatbelt bioregion, subregion Katanning. As the name of the subregion suggests, the Jarrah Forest region and subregion are characterized by Jarrah-Marri forests and woodlands, and it is located primarily to the east of the Darling Escarpment. The area has a Mediterranean climate. One of the landscape features considered to be a special habitat are granite outcrops on which this species is most common ( Williams and Mitchell 2001). It is warmest October through April, and also drier during this time, with the largest amount of rainfall from May through September. Males, females, and immatures have all been collected in hot, dry months and colder, wetter months with overlap of males and females during the transition from cold and wet to hot and dry. No spiders have been collected in April or May, which may be due to when collections were made rather than presence of spiders (Suppl. material 2: table S1).

Discussion.

The other three species known to belong to this species group occur on the Queensland coast, north to at least Coen. This distribution pattern also shows up in a species with which it overlaps, Karaops jarrit (Map 4 ) from the Karaops raveni species group, whose other members occur in New South Wales and Queensland. Although there are immatures in collections that could belong to either species based on locality, the Karaops raveni species group members are flatter than a typical Karaops and have a sort of squat appearance (Figs 8A-F , 9A, D , 10A ). Members of the Karaops strayamate group are more often found under rocks, and Karaops raveni group members are more often found under bark.

Figures

Map 3. Species of the Karaops strayamate species group; red = Karaops ellenae, green = Karaops monteithi, light blue = Karaops gangarie, yellow = Karaops strayamate.

Map 4. Species of the Karaops raveni species group; green = Karaops jarrit, red = Karaops raveni, pale blue = Karaops marrayagong.

Figure 7. Members from the Karaops strayamate species group A Karaops gangarie, holotype female, rainforest near Amos Bay, Queensland (QM S 52315) B Karaops gangarie, paratype female from Cooktown, Queensland (QM S 88003) C Karaops gangarie, paratype male, same data as holotype (QM S 88644) D Karaops ellenae, paratype female, Mount Cooke, Western Australia (WAM T 28043 ex. 93 / 1359) E Karaops ellenae, holotype male, same data as paratype (WAM T 28050 ex. T 93 / 1366) F Karaops monteithi, holotype female, Upper Lankelly Creek, Coen District, Queensland (QM S 61052). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 8. Members from the Karaops raveni species group A Karaops jarrit, paratype female, conveyor # 2, Worsley Alumina Overland Conveyor Belt, SW of Boddington, Western Australia (WAM T 87168) B Karaops raveni, holotype male, Brooyar State Forest, Queensland (QM S 50593) C Karaops raveni, female paratype, Boat Mountain, Queensland (QM S 47057) D Karaops marrayagong, holotype female, Kitty's Creek near Sydney, New South Wales (AM KS 19743) E Karaops marrayagong, female, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales (AM KS. 126520) F Karaops jarrit, holotype male, 11 km NW of Roe's Rock, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 55003) G Karaops monteithi, adult female, under rock, outside of Coen, Queensland; arrows indicate tufts of white setae H Karaops monteithi, habitat of outside of Coen, Queensland. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 9. Karaops marrayagong, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales A adult female (sel _ 1089, AM KS. 126520) B male, face (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) C epigyne, caudal (sel _ 1089 AM KS. 126520) D male (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) E same, palp, ventral; green = vRTA, orange = dRTA, light gray-blue = tegulum, blue-violet = tegular lobe, blue = embolus, turquoise = spermophor, pink = conductor / conductor sheath, yellow = median apophysis, dark green = subtegulum, Sp = spinules F same. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (C); 1 mm (B, D-F).

Figure 10. Karaops marrayagong and Karaops nitmiluk sp. nov. A Karaops marrayagong on tree, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales (Photo: Wendy Grimm) B Karaops marrayagong, male palp, retrolateral, same data as previous (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) C Karaops marrayagong, epigyne, caudal same data as previous (sel _ 1089, AM KS. 126520) D Karaops nitmiluk sp. nov., holotype, epigyne, Baruwei Walk, Nitmiluk National Park, Northern Territory (sel _ 1333, MAGNT A 004906); pink = median field, blue-violet = epigynal windows, yellow = lateral lobes / epigynal plate E same, endogyne, yellow = accessory bulbs, blue = spermathecae, red = fertilization ducts, green = posterodorsal fold F same, epigyne G same, endogyne. Scale bars: 1 mm (B); 0.2 mm (D-G).