The Australian Lynx Spiders (Araneae, Oxyopidae, Oxyopes) of the Godeffroy Collection, including the description of a new species
Author
Baehr, Barbara C.
Author
Harms, Danilo
Author
Duperre, Nadine
Author
Raven, Robert
text
Evolutionary Systematics
2017
1
1
11
37
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.1.14652
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.1.14652
2535-0730-1-11
62B9B6F71BB54FA4BDF47D798CEF12A0
Oxyopes mundulus L. Koch, 1878
Figs 12
A-E
, 20E
579.
Oxyopes mundulus
L. Koch, 1878, 1025-1026, Taf. 90 Fig. 3 + 3 a, Australien, Sydney, Holotype (Mus. GODEFFROY Nr. 16501) (37). (
Rack 1961
).
Oxyopes mundulus
L. Koch, 1878 (
Hickman 1967
).
Material examined.
FEMALE HOLOTYPE (ZMH-A0000015), from New South Wales, Sydney,
33°51'S
,
151°12'E
, Godeffroy Collection.
Diagnosis.
Females of
Oxyopes mundulus
are similar to
Oxyopes elegans
and
Oxyopes godeffroyi
,
Oxyopes rubicundus
in having a translucent, quadrangular scapus. They can be separated from
Oxyopes godeffroyi
by having copulatory ducts with 3 coils (Figs 12E, 20E), and from
Oxyopes elegans
and
Oxyopes rubicundus
by the more heavily sclerotized and downward curved anterolateral scapus tips, from
Oxyopes gracilipes
by having the spermathecae an anterior position (see
Vink and Sirvid 1998
, fig 8).
Figure 12.
Oxyopes mundulus
L. Koch, 1878, female syntype (ZMH- A0000015): A, habitus, dorsal view; B, habitus, ventral view; C, epigyne, ventral view; D, epigyne, ventral view, cleared; E, epigyne, dorsal view, cleared. Scale bars: habitus 1.0 mm, epigyne 0.1 mm.
Description.
Female (Holotype, ZMH-A0000015). Total length 5.17. Prosoma 2.32 long, 1.76 wide, pl/pw 1.32; sternum 1.10 long, 0.93 wide, sl/sw 1.18; opisthosoma 2.85 long, 1.78 wide. Eight eyes in four rows with six eyes forming a hexagon, AME smallest ALE biggest, others equal in size; AME 0.09; ALE 0.21; PLE 0.20; PME 0.20;
ALE-ALE
0.24;
ALE-AME
0.06;
AME-AME
0.14;
ALE-PLE
0.22;
PLE-PME
0.24;
PME-PME
0.29. Clypeus 0.52 high with a pair of dark brown bands. Prosoma pale with dark brown lateral sides and one logitudinal brown median band, anteriorly forked, oval, posteriorly rounded, fovea short 0.15 of prosoma length. Chelicerae paturon pale with broad logitudinal median dark band and lateral condyle. Endites and sternum pale, labium and lateral part of sternum with dark brown; opisthosoma long pear-shaped, pale with dark brown lateral sides interrupted by pale stripes and one brown median band with pale lanceolate anterior part; venter pale with two lateral dark brown stripes and a dark brown median band. Legs pale with dark brown bands especially on the femora. Female epigyne (Figs 12
C-E
, 20E): scapus translucent, quadrangular with sclerotized down curved anterior edges and adjacent lateral lobes, copulatory openings at the anterior part of the lateral lobes, copulatory ducts short, with 3 coils, ending in globular apical spermathecae situated on the anterior-lateral sides of the sclerotized anterior border.
Distribution.
Original record from Sydney, New South Wales.
Remarks.
Koch mentions that the specimen was collected in dry leaf litter.
Taxonomic comments.
This species is currently listed as a junior synonym of
Oxyopes gracilipes
(White, 1849) which is a widespread species, at least in New Zealand and probably also temperate eastern Australia (
Vink and Sirvid 2000
). The holotype of
Oxyopes mundulus
was re-examined and a neotype was designated for
Oxyopes gracilipes
from New Zealand by these authors. We do not follow their synonymy because the authors were not able to examine the interior part of the epigyne of
Oxyopes mundulus
where the main differences between
O. mundulus
and
Oxyopes gracilipes
have been recognized.
Oxyopes mundulus
can be separated from from
Oxyopes gracilipes
by having the spermathecae in anterior position (compare with
Vink and Sirvid 1998
, fig 8). Note that the Godeffroy Collection contains four species with a translucent quadrangular scapus and they can be clearly separated by the internal structure of the epigyne whilst they only show minor differences in the shape of the external genitalia.
Vink and Sirvid (2000)
recognised also that the Godeffroy
Oxyopes
types include a closely related group that encompasses
gracilipes
,
elegans
and
rubicundus
as well as an undescribed species (almost certainly
godeffroyi
described in this paper).