Australoonops Hewitt

Platnick N. I. & Dupérré N., 2010, The Goblin Spider Genera Stenoonops And Australoonops (Araneae, Oonopidae), With Notes On Related Taxa, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (340), pp. 1-111 : 86-96

Australoonops Hewitt

Australoonops Hewitt, 1915: 92 (type species by monotypy Australoonops granulatus Hewitt ).

DIAGNOSIS: Members of this genus resemble those of Stenoonops , although they lack the distinct furrows separating the sternal extensions (figs. 746, 783) that are here considered synapomorphic for that genus. In Australoonops , the male palpal bulb and cymbium are completely fused, with no trace of a seam between them (figs. 752, 753); the female epigastric scutum has a distinctly recurved posterior margin, and the postepigastric scutum is ovoid (fig. 770).

NOTE: Hewitt (1915: 94) described and illustrated what he considered to be an unusual modification of the labium of the type specimen, which ‘‘appears to be continued anteriorly as a very narrow median colourless process, the margins of which are obscured by downwardly directed stiffish hairs; including its process the labium is much longer than broad.’’ We have seen specimens with a similar appearance (e.g., fig. 827), but there is no actual process on the labium (figs. 743, 744). The ‘‘colourless process’’ is merely the tip of the labrum, fully expanded and seen in ventral view.

DESCRIPTION: Total length of males 1.6– 2.0, of females 1.9–2.6; cephalothorax pale orange, legs and palpi yellow, abdomen white. CEPHALOTHORAX: Carapace with- out any pattern, elongate oval in dorsal view, pars cephalica flat in lateral view, anteriorly narrowed to 0.49 times its maximum width or less, with rounded posterolateral corners; posterolateral edge without pits, posterior margin not bulging below posterior rim, anterolateral corners without extension or projections, posterolateral surface without spikes, sides granulate (figs. 740–742, 760, 762, 774–776); thorax without depressions, fovea absent, without radiating rows of pits; lateral margin straight, smooth, without denticles; plumose setae near posterior margin of pars thoracica absent; nonmarginal pars cephalica setae dark, needlelike, scattered; nonmarginal pars thoracica setae dark, needlelike; marginal setae absent. Clypeus margin unmodified, straight in front view, vertical in lateral view, low, ALE separated from edge of carapace by less than their radius, median projection absent; setae dark, needlelike. Chilum absent. Eyes six, well developed, ALE largest, ALE oval, PME squared, PLE circular; ALE separated by less than their radius, ALE-PLE separated by less than ALE radius, PME touching throughout most of their length, PLE-PME separated by less than PME radius; posterior eye row straight from above, procurved from front. Sternum longer than wide, coloration uniform, fused to carapace, median concavity absent, without hair tufts, without radial furrows between coxae I–II, II–III, III–IV (fig. 746), radial furrow opposite coxae III absent; surface smooth but covered with small round pits present everywhere but middle (figs. 761, 763, 783), sickle-shaped structures absent; anterior margin unmodified, posterior margin extending posteriorly beyond anterior edges of coxae IV as single extension, anterior corners unmodified, lateral margin without infracoxal grooves, distance between coxae II and III greater than distance between coxae I and II, and coxae III and IV, extensions of precoxal triangles absent, lateral margins with three pairs of lateral projections, with posterior hump; setae sparse, dark, spatulate, in group at base of coxae, originating from surface. Chelicerae slightly divergent, anterior face unmodified; without teeth on promargin or retromargin; fang without toothlike projections, directed medially, shape normal, without prominent basal process, tip unmodified; setae dark, spatulate, densest medially; paturon inner margin with pairs of smooth, distally enlarged setae (fig. 777), distal region unmodified, posterior surface unmodified, promargin with row of flattened setae, inner margin unmodified, laminate groove absent. Labium rectangular, fused to sternum, anterior margin indented at middle, same as sternum in sclerotization, with six or more setae on anterior margin, subdistal portion with unmodified setae. Endites distally not excavat- ed, serrula present in single row (figs. 743, 745, 778), anteromedian tip unmodified, posteromedian part unmodified, same as sternum in sclerotization. Female palp without claw or spines; patella without prolateral row of ridges; tarsus with thickened setae (figs. 779, 780), dorsal surface with subdistal patch of shortened setae (fig. 781), tarsal organ with elongate opening (fig. 782). AB- DOMEN: Cylindrical, without long posterior extension, rounded posteriorly, interscutal membrane without rows of small sclerotized platelets; dorsum soft portions without color pattern. Supposed book lung covers large, ovoid, without setae, anterolateral edge unmodified. Posterior spiracles connected by groove. Pedicel tube short, unmodified, scutopedicel region unmodified, scutum not extending far dorsal of pedicel, plumose hairs absent, matted setae on anterior ventral abdomen in pedicel area absent, cuticular outgrowths near pedicel absent. Dorsal scutum absent. Epigastric scutum weakly sclerotized, not surrounding pedicel, not protruding, small lateral sclerites absent, without lateral joints in females, posterior margin recurved (fig. 790). Postepigastric scutum weakly sclerotized, short, ovoid, only around epigastric furrow, not fused to epigastric scutum, anterior margin unmodified, without posteriorly directed lateral apodemes. Spinneret scutum absent; supraanal scutum absent. Dorsum setae dark, needlelike; epigastric area frontal setae thickened, dark, needlelike; postepigastric area setae dark, needlelike; dense patch of setae anterior to spinnerets absent. Colulus absent. Spinnerets scanned only in A. granulatus (figs. 747, 786); anterior lateral spinnerets with single major ampullate gland spigot and three piriform gland spigots (fig. 787), posterior median spinnerets with single spigot (fig. 788), posterior laterals with two spigots (fig. 789). LEGS: Without color pattern; femur IV not thickened, same size as femora I–III, femora with subdistal transverse row of dorsal setae at slight constriction (fig. 784); patella plus tibia I shorter than carapace; tibia I unmodified, tibia IV specialized hairs on ventral apex absent, tibia IV ventral scopula absent; metatarsi I and II meso-apical comb absent, metatarsi III and IV weak ventral scopula absent. Leg spines absent. Lateral surfaces of superior claws with few large, basal teeth, median surfaces with numerous tiny, closely spaced, more distally situated teeth (figs. 748–750, 792–795), inferior claw absent. Trichobothrial bases with numerous ridges (fig. 785); tarsal organ of legs I, II rounded, of legs III, IV elongate (figs. 756–759, 796, 797). GENITALIA: Male epigastric region with sperm pore not visible; furrow without V- shaped insertions, without setae. Male palp of normal size, not strongly sclerotized, right and left palps symmetrical, embolus light, without prolateral excavation; trochanter of normal size, unmodified; femur of normal size, two or more times as long as trochanter, without posteriorly rounded lateral dilation, attaching to patella basally; patella shorter than femur, not enlarged, without prolateral row of ridges, setae unmodified; tibia with at least two trichobothria (fig. 751); cymbium ovoid in dorsal view, completely fused with bulb, no seam visible (figs. 752, 753), not extending beyond distal tip of bulb, plumose setae absent, without stout setae, with distal patch of shortened setae (754); tarsal organ elongate (fig. 755); bulb 1–1.5 times as long as cymbium, stout, tapering apically. Internal female genitalia with distinct anterior and posterior receptacula (fig. 791).

DISTRIBUTION: South Africa and Mozambique.