The spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneoidea): a relimitation and revision at the generic level
Author
Rix, Michael
Western Australian Museum, Welshpool DC, Perth, Australia
Author
Harvey, Mark
Western Australian Museum, Perth, Welshpool, Australia
text
ZooKeys
2010
2010-02-22
36
36
1
321
journal article
22759
10.3897/zookeys.36.306
4db6b327-7482-432e-a5f6-36f91c79fef3
1313–2970
576620
ADCACC88-6C78-4386-8E33-3F98234ECE92
Epigastrina
typhlops
Rix & Harvey
,
sp. n.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
39623469-D1A5-4EDD-974A-1F3AD909EBC8
Figs 63E
,
65–66
, 213
Type
material.
Holotype
male:
Kubla Khan
(MC-1),
Mole Creek
karst,
Tasmania
,
Australia
, from sheet web with vertical stay lines in cracks of wall above pool, near lower entrance (dark zone),
41°33'12"S
,
146°16'52"E
,
24.X.1990
,
S. Eberhard
(
AMS
KS29793
).
Paratypes
:
Allotype
female, same data as holotype (
QVM 13
: 12765)
.
Etymology
.
The specific epithet is derived from the Greek ‘typhlos’, meaning ‘blind’ (
Brown 1956
), and refers to the absence of eyes in this species.
Diagnosis
.
Males and females of
Epigastrina typhlops
can be distinguished from all other described congeners by the complete absence of eyes (
Fig. 65C
).
Description
.
Holotype
male
: Total length 1.18. Carapace 0.53 long, 0.39 wide. Abdomen 0.70 long, 0.47 wide. Leg I femur 0.48. Cephalothorax, legs very pale tan-yellow; abdomen pale cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, not fused to sternum except around petiole; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes absent. Chelicerae each with large, bulging anterior projection; promargin with three peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.91); distal, prolateral macroseta present on tibia I. Abdomen oval, covered with hair-like setae; dorsal scute large, indistinct, covering most of dorsal surface of abdomen; lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalpal patella with retrolaterally-directed, hooked lRPA and ornate, ridged cuticular microstructure; tegulum large, bulging posteriorly, with excavate ETR and very large, divergent, fleshy medial conductor bearing rod-like prolateral process and massive, fleshy retrolateral process; embolus short (length <5× width), spur-like, distally hooked, situated between divergent processes of conductor (
Fig. 66
).
Allotype
female
: Total length 1.12. Carapace 0.49 long, 0.40 wide. Abdomen 0.76 long, 0.55 wide. Leg I femur 0.43. Cephalothorax, legs very pale tan-yellow; abdomen pale cream, with darker tan-yellow epigyne. Carapace raised anteriorly, not fused to sternum except around petiole; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes absent. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.88); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval, covered with hair-like setae; dorsal scute and lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalp entire, five-segmented. Epigyne heavily sclerotised externally, with distinctive, wedge-shaped epigastric plate (
Fig. 65D
); spermathecae globular, connecting to parallel, filiform insemination and fertilisation ducts (
Fig. 63E
).
Distribution
.
Known only from the cave
Kubla Khan
in the Mole Creek karst of north-central
Tasmania
(Fig. 213).
Remarks.
Epigastrina typhlops
is a highly troglomorphic and completely blind species, otherwise very similar to
E. fulva
and
E. loongana
.