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
10.3897/zookeys.36.306
4db6b327-7482-432e-a5f6-36f91c79fef3
1313–2970
576620
ADCACC88-6C78-4386-8E33-3F98234ECE92
Micropholcomma
junee
Rix & Harvey
,
sp. n.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
9A689FA4-72D0-4553-AF71-B56F303154A3
Figs 15D, 16–17, 213
Type
material.
Holotype
male:
Splash Pot
(JF-10),
Junee-Florentine
karst,
Tasmania
,
Australia
, on moist wall of stream (twilight and dark zones) to c.
40 m
depth
,
42°43'S
,
146°34'E
,
28.VIII.1987
,
S. Eberhard
(
AMS
KS97172
).
Paratypes
:
Allotype
female,
Cauldron Pot
(JF-2),
Junee-Florentine
karst,
Tasmania
,
Australia
, in deep part (dark zone) of cave,
2.IV.1990
,
S. Eberhard
(
QVM 13
: 13292);
1 male
, same data as holotype (
AMNH
)
.
Etymology
.
The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, taken from the
type
locality.
Diagnosis
.
Males and females of
Micropholcomma junee
can be distinguished from all other described congeners by the presence of only four vestigial eye spots (Figs 16A–B).
Description
.
Holotype
male
: Total length 0.90. Carapace 0.39 long, 0.32 wide. Abdomen 0.59 long, 0.43 wide. Leg I femur 0.34. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites dark tan-brown; legs, abdomen dark tan-yellow. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes reduced to four vestigial eye spots on anterior margin of pars cephalica. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin with single peg tooth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.87); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval, protruding posteriorly, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute large, covering most of dorsal surface of abdomen; lateral sclerotic strips present. Pedipalpal patella with distally-directed, flanged lRPA; tegulum smooth, without processes, with curved ETR; embolus long (length> 5× width), looping once around margin of tegulum (Fig. 17).
Allotype
female
: Total length 0.84. Carapace 0.36 long, 0.30 wide. Abdomen 0.56 long, 0.37 wide. Leg I femur 0.37. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites tan-yellow; legs, abdomen pale cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes reduced to four vestigial eye spots on anterior margin of pars cephalica. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 1.03); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval, protruding posteriorly, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute and lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalp small, four-segmented, with fused tibia-tarsus. Epigyne with distinctive external morphology (Fig. 16D); spermathecae globular; insemination ducts coiled around arched fertilisation ducts (Fig. 15D).
Distribution
.
Known only from the caves
Splash Pot
and
Cauldron Pot
in the Junee-Florentine karst of south-central
Tasmania
(Fig. 213).
Remarks
.
Micropholcomma junee
lives in sympatry with another troglobitic micropholcommatid,
Olgania eberhardi
sp. n.
(see below). Nothing is known of its biology.