Karaops francesae 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 francesae Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 16B-D , Maps 1 , 6

Karaops francesae Crews & Harvey, 2011: 70, figs 65-68 (♂, ♀, examined).

New records.

Western Australia • 1 imm; Cape Le Grand National Park, Lucky Bay camping area, site 4; 33°59'37"S, 122°13'06.9"E; 18 Jun. 2014; 33 m; J.M. Waldock, C.A. Car leg.; hand search; base of granite outcrop; (WAM T134604) • 1♀, 1♂; Fitzgerald River National Park, Mt. Drummond; 33°54'37"S, 119°36'42"E; 7 Oct. 2007; 297 m; M.L. Moir, J. Newell, S. Brett leg.; (WAM T136891) • 1♀; Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Upper Firebreak Gully, Firebreak Track near Little Beach; 34°58'36"S, 118°11'41"E; 27 Nov. 2014; M.S. Harvey, M.G. Rix, M.A. Castalanelli leg.; by hand; under eucalypt bark; (WAM T134761) • 1♀; Fitzgerald River National Park, gully E of Two Bump Hill; 34°00'07.3"S, 119°46'06.3"E; 06 Oct. 2007; J. Newell, S. Comer leg.; under rocks; (WAM T119331) • 1♀; Cape Le Grand National Park, Lucky Bay, granite outcrop, site 7; 33°59'45.1"S, 122°13'11.7"E; 19 Jun. 2014; 29 m; J.M. Waldock, C.A. Car leg.; by hand; under rock on granite; (WAM T133030) • 1♀; same as previous; 44 m; WAM T133031.

Diagnosis.

Males of Karaops francesae (Fig. 16D ) can be distinguished from K. toolbrunup by the smaller tegular lobe and the embolus that is at the perimeter of the cymbium ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 65, 66, 71, 72). Females of K. francesae (Fig. 15C ) have the ducts between the spermathecae and accessory bulbs coiled and the accessory bulbs extend anteriorly beyond the middle of the genitalia.

Description.

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

Distribution.

This species is found along the southern coast of Western Australia, including offshore islands (Maps 1 , 6 ).

Natural history.

Karaops francesae (Fig. 16C, D ) is known from the southwest of Western Australia and has primarily been collected along the coast (Fig. 16B ). It is thus far known from three subregions: Southern Jarrah Forest of the Jarrah Forest bioregion and the Fitzgerald and Recherche subregions of the Esperance Plains bioregion. The Southern Jarrah Forest climate is warm Mediterranean, with Jarrah-Marri woodlands interspersed with shrublands. The Esperance bioregion is characterized by scrub and mallee heaths. The vegetation of the Fitzgerald subregion is diverse, with many localized endemics. The Fitzgerald and Recherche subregions both have a temperate Mediterranean climate. The Recherche subregion vegetation is primarily heath, and it gets slightly more rainfall than the Fitzgerald subregion. The subregions are warmest and driest November to March, and coolest and wettest May to August. Adults seem to occur during the transitional times between hot and dry and cool and wet; however, this may reflect when collections are made as it is not optimal to collect during the hottest or wettest times of the year (Suppl. material 2: table S1). This species is often collected beneath granite slabs (Fig. 16B ).

Discussion.

This species overlaps with two species, Karaops toolbrunup , its sister taxon, and there has been a single collection of K. jarrit from within the range. Karaops toolbrunup has thus far only been collected from the Stirling Ranges National Park. It is closely related to K. francesae and looks similar, but all specimens collected can be distinguished (i.e., they are not variants). Molecular data show some clades of K. francesae that are as different from one another as they are from as K. toolbrunup ; however, no morphological differences have been found in these groups, and it is possibly due to introgression, intermixing, or the genes used are not good for determining these relationships (Suppl. material 1). These two species comprise the Karaops francesae species group.

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 6. Species of the Karaops francesae species group; yellow = Karaops francesae, teal = Karaops toolbrunup.

Figure 15. Karaops jawayway sp. nov. and Karaops yumbu of the Karaops dawara species group A Karaops jawayway sp. nov., Savannah Way, Northern Territory B Karaops yumbu, Browns Range, Western Australia, night C Karaops yumbu habitat, Wolverine pre-pit, Browns Range, Western Australia D Karaops yumbu, Browns Range, Western Australia, night E habitat of Karaops jawayway sp. nov., Savannah Way, Northern Territory F Karaops yumbu, Browns Range, Western Australia (sel _ 1293, WAM T 155669) G same H same. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 16. Karaops yumbu and members of the Karaops francesae species group A Karaops yumbu, habitat, Sawpit Gorge, Western Australia B habitat of Karaops francesae, Mt. Lindesay, Western Australia C Karaops francesae, female paratype, east Mount Barren, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 54994) D Karaops francesae, male holotype, northeast of slope of West Mount Barren, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 54996) E Karaops toolbrunup, female holotype, Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 76592) F Karaops toolbrunup, male paratype, Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 62231). Scale bars: 1 mm.