Karaops vadlaadambara 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 vadlaadambara Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 1E, F , Maps 1 , 2

Karaops vadlaadambara Crews & Harvey, 2011: 59, figs 51-54 (♂, ♀, examined).

Diagnosis.

The male of Karaops vadlaadambara (Fig. 1F ) has a darkened tip of the conductor and a basal extension of the conductor that nearly covers the distal branch of the median apophysis ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 51). The median lobe of the female is nearly uniform in width throughout its length and the spermathecae and accessory bulbs form a straight vertical line ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 53). In K. manaayn , they are angled outward ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 47, 48).

Description.

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

Distribution.

This species is known only from the Gammon and Flinders Ranges, South Australia (Map 2 ).

Natural history.

The climate of the collection localities is semiarid to arid with erratic rainfall. Females and males have been collected in cooler, slightly wetter times of the year, with one male collected at a warmer, wetter time of year (Suppl. material 2: table S1). At least one specimen was collected at night and another in a pitfall trap.

Discussion.

Karaops vadlaadambara (Fig. 1E, F ) is the only species of the Central Desert species group known from more than one or two specimens (three males and six females). It also does not technically occur in the Central Desert, but it is part of the Eyrean or Eastern Desert region of Ebach et al. (2013), or the Northern and Central Flinders subregions of the Flinders Lofty Block in the IBRA (Maps 1 , 2 ).

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.