Australian Assassins, Part II: A review of the new assassin spider genus Zephyrarchaea (Araneae, Archaeidae) from southern Australia
Author
Rix, Michael G.
Author
Harvey, Mark S.
text
ZooKeys
2012
191
1
62
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.191.3070
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.191.3070
1313-2970-191-1
Archaea hickmani Butler, 1929
nomen dubium
Archaea hickmani
Butler, 1929: 46, pl. 2, figs 1-5.
Archaea hickmanni
Butler:
Canals 1934
: 5, fig. 3.
Austrarchaea hickmani
(Butler): Forster & Platnick, 1984: 23, fig. 69 (figs 40-50 show an unrelated species of
Austrarchaea
from New South Wales; see below).
Type material.
Holotype juvenile (not examined): no specific locality, Victoria, Australia, ~1922 (MV K097).
Other material examined.
AUSTRALIA: Victoria: no specific locality, 1936, C. Oke, 1 juvenile (AMS KS97261).
Nomenclatural
remarks.
Archaea hickmani
was first described by
Butler (1929)
from a juvenile specimen of unspecified providence, labelled and listed by Butler simply as
"Victoria"
.
Forster and Platnick (1984)
examined this holotype, stating that it was in rather poor condition, and noting that a second adult female (labelled as a
"homotype"
) accompanied the specimen, the latter apparently collected after the original description in 1929. The genitalia of this adult female specimen were illustrated in
Forster and Platnick (1984
, fig. 69), the specimen was briefly described, and the species was transferred to the genus
Austrarchaea
.
Forster and Platnick (1984
, figs 40-50) also presented scanning electron micrographs of a juvenile archaeid from near Sydney, erroneously regarded as being conspecific or very closely related to
Austrarchaea hickmani
based on the absence of setose tubercles on the carapace. However, this specimen is clearly a juvenile of an unrelated species of
Austrarchaea
, as evidenced by the abdominal tubercles (see
Forster and Platnick 1984
, fig. 40) and New South Wales distribution. The Australian Museum collection also has an additional juvenile specimen of
Austrarchaea hickmani
collected by C. Oke in 1936, similarly labelled as being from
"Victoria"
.
Based on the three known Victorian specimens identified by Butler as
Archaea hickmani
, the species is clearly congeneric and probably even conspecific with one of the four new Victorian species of
Zephyrarchaea
described in this paper. Unfortunately, given the unspecified collection locality of all three specimens, and thus the inability to unequivocally link the single adult female to the holotype or the type locality, this species must be regarded as a nomen dubium.