Karaops jenniferae 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 jenniferae Crews & Harvey, 2011

Figs 27D 28D, F, G, Maps 1 , 7

Karaops jenniferae Crews & Harvey, 2011: 80, figs 77, 78 (♀, examined).

New records.

Western Australia • 2 imm.; Devonian Reef Conservation Park, Oscar Range; 17°38.15.73"S, 125°10'3.31"E; 25 May 2016; S. Crews, J. DeJong leg.; under large limestone rocks; sel_1274-1275; SCC16_056; (WAM T155650-T155651).

Diagnosis.

This species can be differentiated from other members of the group by the genitalia. The accessory bulbs are conspicuously anterior to the atrium in this species than they are in any of the others in the Kimberley group (Fig. 28F, G ).

Description.

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

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

Known from only the type locality, Oscar Range, Western Australia (Map 7 ).

Natural history.

The Oscar Range (Fig. 27D ) is located in the Mount Eliza subregion of the Central Kimberley bioregion. The climate is dry, hot tropical to sub-humid to semi-arid. The area is craggy with savannah woodland and vine thickets ( Graham 2001e). The spiders were found under large rocks in an area shaded by a large rock formation. The immature specimens were collected in a cooler month with little rain, and the adult female was collected in a cooler month with very little rain (Suppl. material 2: tables S1, S9).

Discussion.

Karaops jenniferae (Fig. 28D ) is part of a recent, sizeable radiation in the Kimberley, including the offshore islands. Because of its similarity to other species nearby, new illustrations are provided for ease of comparison (Fig. 28F, G ). The male remains unknown. The two immatures were assigned to this species because they were collected in the same locality as the type, and molecular data also recover them with the type (Suppl. material 1).

Figures

Map 1. Map of Australia showing areas that are expanded in subsequent figures. CD = Central Desert group, D = Karaops dawara group, F = Karaops francesae group, K = Kimberley group, UA = species that are not assigned to a group, PG = Pilbara-Gascoyne group.

Map 7. Species of the Kimberley species group. Diamonds (juveniles): light purple = Mimbi Caves; blue = Geike Gorge, green = Adcock Gorge, teal = Augustus Island, pink = Little Mertens Falls, yellow = Emma Gorge, orange = Kelly's Knob, red = Keep River National Park; Circles: green = Karaops dejongi sp. nov., blue = Karaops jenniferae, red = Karaops dalmanyi sp. nov., purple = Karaops sp. adult male (will be described in subsequent publication), white = Karaops conilurus sp. nov., pink = Karaops umiida, yellow = Karaops alanlongbottomi, teal = Karaops keithlongbottomi, mauve = Karaops larryoo, orange = Karaops garyodwyeri sp. nov., black = Karaops malumbu sp. nov. Juveniles are treated as distinct species based on molecular data.

Figure 27. Members of the Kimberley species group A Karaops dalmanyi sp. nov., Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge), Western Australia B Karaops dalmanyi sp. nov., paratype male, palp, dorsal (sel _ 1237, WAM T 155613) C habitat, Emma Gorge, Western Australia D Karaops jenniferae habitat, Mowambini (Oscar Range), Western Australia E Karaops dalmanyi sp. nov., paratype male, palp, ventral (sel _ 1237, WAM T 155613) F same, palp, retrolateral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 28. Members of the Kimberley species group A Karaops alanlongbottomi, holotype male, Degerando Island, Champagny Islands, Western Australia (WAM T 28014 ex 93 / 1330) B Karaops conilurus sp. nov., holotype male, Conilurus Island, Buccaneer Archipelago, Western Australia (WAM T 110400) C Karaops conilurus sp. nov., paratype male, Conilurus Island, Buccaneer Archipelago, Western Australia (WAM T 110401) D Karaops jenniferae, holotype female, Mowambini (Oscar Range), Western Australia (WAM T 65078) E Karaops dalmanyi sp. nov., paratype male, Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge), Western Australia (sel _ 1233, WAM T 155609) F Karaops jenniferae, holotype female, epigyne (WAM T 65078) G same, endogyne. 0.5 mm (F, G); 1 mm (A-D).