Karaops ngarutjaranya 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 ngarutjaranya Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 1A, B , Maps 1 , 2

Karaops ngarutjaranya Crews & Harvey, 2011: 68, figs 61-64 (♂, ♀, examined).

Diagnosis.

The female of Karaops ngarutjaranya (Fig. 1A, B ) can be separated from other members of the Central Desert group by the lateral lobes nearly touching toward the posterior of the epigynal plate, and the median field is shaped like a keyhole ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 59). The conductor of the male has a sinuous margin, and the median apophysis does not cover part of the conductor ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 61, 63).

Description.

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

Distribution.

Known only from two nearby localities, Mount Woodroffe and Womikata Bore Homeland, South Australia (Map 2 ).

Natural history.

Karaops ngarutjaranya occurs in the Mann-Musgrave Block subregion of the Central Ranges in northern South Australia (Maps 1 , 2 ; Suppl. material 2: table S1). The ranges have wattle scrub or Callitris glaucophylla F. Muell woodlands over grasslands, and low, open woodlands of ironwood and corkwood over grasses on the edges of the ranges ( Graham and Cowan 2001). The male was collected in a gorge.

Discussion.

Karaops ngarutjaranya is only known from one male (Fig. 1B ) and one female (Fig. 1A ) collected from different but nearby localities a few days apart. It is mentioned that the Mann-Musgrave block subregion is rich and diverse but that many species have broad ranges and occur in several adjoining subregions ( Graham and Cowan 2001). There have been no collections made in the immediate subregions, but the ones nearby harbor different, though closely related, species. The spiders were collected in October, a hot, wetter part of the year.

Figures

Figure 1. Species of the Central Desert species group A Karaops ngarutjaranya, female paratype, southeast of Womikata Bore Homeland, South Australia (SAM NN 10915) B Karaops ngarutjaranya, male holotype, northeast of Mount Woodroffe, South Australia (SAM NN 10914) C Karaops pilkingtoni, male holotype, Trig Hill (but see text), Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs, Northern Territory (WAM T 76590) D Karaops pilkingtoni, female paratype, Alice Springs, Northern Territory (SAM N 199359) E Karaops vadlaadambara, female paratype, Arcoona Creek, near Sambot Waterhole, Gammon Ranges National Park, South Australia (SAM N 199354) F Karaops vadlaadambara, male holotype, Arcoona Creek, near Sambot Waterhole, Gammon Ranges National Park, South Australia (SAM N 199353) G Karaops manaayn, female holotype, Kempsey Road, West Armidale, above Macleay River, New South Wales (AM KS 043756) H Karaops manaayn, male paratype, Kempsey Road, West Armidale, above Macleay River, New South Wales (AM KS 113351) I Karaops mparntwe sp. nov., holotype female, Alice Springs, Northern Territory (AMT AA 10.852). Scale bars: 1 mm.

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 2. Species of the Central Desert species group; orange = juvenile from Morgan Range, light purple = Karaops deserticola, teal = Karaops ngarutjaranya, red = juveniles from Watarrka, blue = Karaops larapinta sp. nov., pink = Karaops kwartatuma sp. nov., yellow = Karaops pilkingtoni, x = Karaops mparntwe sp. nov., purple = Karaops vadlaadambara, green = Karaops manaayn. Juveniles are treated as distinct species based on molecular data.