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 longissimum
(
Butler, 1932
)
Fig. 15E
Plectochetos longissimus
Butler, 1932: 107
, pl. 1, figs 15–20.
Roewer, 1942: 617
.
Bonnet, 1958: 3707
.
Micropholcomma longissima
(Butler)
:
Forster, 1959: 298
, figs 64–69, 137.
Forster & Platnick, 1984: 92
, figs 360–361, 369–370, 375–376.
Micropholcomma longissimum
(Butler)
:
Davies, 1985: 89
.
Platnick, 2009
.
Type
material.
Holotype
male:
Mount Donna Buang
, near
Warburton
,
Yarra Ranges
,
Victoria
,
Australia
, under logs and similar places,
4080 ft
,
II.1931
,
C. Oke
(
NMV
K103
).
Selected
material examined.
AUSTRALIA
:
Victoria
:
Yarra Ranges
,
Toolangi State Forest
,
3 km
E. of
Toolangi
,
15.I.1990
,
D. Black
,
1♀
(
WAM
T94464
)
;
Yarra Ranges
,
White Hill Track No.
2, 15 km ENE. of
Healesville
, on
Acheron Way
,
4.III.1990
,
D. Black
,
2♀
(
WAM
T94465
)
;
same data,
2♀
(
WAM
T94466
)
;
Double Creek Nature Walk
,
7 km
N. of
Mallacoota
,
26.X.1990
,
D. Black
, 2♁,
1♀
(
WAM
T94469
)
;
10 km
ENE. of
Genoa
, near
Johnson’s Bridge
,
26.X.1990
,
D. Black
, 1♁,
1♀
(
WAM
T94468
)
;
Great Otway National Park
, track to
Cora Lynn Cascades
, near
Lorne
,
22.IV.2006
, M.
Rix
, 1♁ (
WAM
T94463
)
;
same data, 1♁ (
WAM
T80018
DNA-
MPE
)
;
Mount Buffalo National Park
, walking tack to
Eurobin Falls
,
8.V.1990
,
D. Black
,
2♀
(
WAM
T94467
)
.
Remarks
.
Micropholcomma longissimum
is remarkable for the exaggerated length of the male embolus (see
Forster and Platnick 1984
, fig. 369) and the concomitantly extreme development of the female insemination ducts, the latter of which are very tightly coiled around the fertilisation ducts (Fig. 15E). There are, however, a number of undescribed species of
Micropholcomma
in both eastern and south-western
Australia
that share a very similar, ‘super-coiled’ genitalic morphology, as well as several species (e.g.
M. linnaei
,
M. turbans
) with a somewhat intermediate morphology between
M. longissimum
and those taxa with a simple, looped embolus (e.g.
M. bryophilum
).