Elleguna major, Gray & Smith, 2008

Gray, Michael R. & Smith, Helen M., 2008, A New Subfamily of Spiders with Grate-shaped Tapeta from Australia and Papua New Guinea (Araneae: Stiphidiidae: Borralinae), Records of the Australian Museum 60 (1), pp. 13-44 : 36-38

Elleguna major n.sp.

Figs 8d , 16a–e

Type material. Queensland: HOLOTYPE:?, KS34765, lower slopes of Mt William, Dalrymple Heights near Eungella , 21°01'S 148°36'E, Apr.1975, M. Gray & C. Horseman, in log, Rainforest Survey Site 15, notophyll evergreen vine forest . PARATYPES:!, KS57656, Eungella area, Snake Rd, 4.7 km NW Dalrymple Rd, 21°02'47"S 148°32'17"E, 20 Apr. 1998, G. Milledge;?, KS34585, Dalrymple Heights, 21°04'S 148°35'E, 9 Apr. 1975, M.R. Gray & C. Horseman, in roadside bank near Rainforest Survey Camp;!, KS57653, Eungella NP, Dalrymple Rd , 1.3 km NE Snake Rd junction, 21°04'S 148°35'E, 18 Apr. 1998, G. Milledge;!, KS57654, as KS57653 but 1.7 km; 2 ??, 4 !!, KS83622–7, data as for holotype .

Diagnosis. Differs from E. minor as follows: male palp with a large ventral conductor process, a basally angled and apically elongated embolus, and a large RDTA; epigynal fossa indistinctly divided by a weak median ridge and lateral fossa margins extended inwards as thin “flanges”.

Description

Male (holotype). BL 6.65, CL 3.22 (range 3.10–3.39), CW 2.33, CapW 1.22, EGW 0.88, LL 0.43, LW 0.43, SL 1.59, SW 1.35. Legs: 1423 (I: 15.58; II: 13.17; III: 11.58; IV: 14.25); ratio tibia I length:CW = 1:0.66. Male palp ( Fig. 16a,b ). Bulb with a reduced, indistinct TL, with a tightly looped sperm duct visible retrolaterally. Embolus a long, curved spine, thick and strongly angled basally just before entering the conductor groove, then tapering and slender distally. Prolateral limb of conductor wide with a triangular flange; retrolateral limb extended as a long, translucent, curved spine supporting the elongate embolus and making a loose loop around the ventral conductor process.VCP very large with a thickened base. TW basal. MA surrounded by a collar-like membraneous area. RDTA a robust, ventrally concave, tapering process.

Female (KS57656). BL 8.37, CL 4.00 (range 3.22–4.00), CW 2.53, CapW 1.88, EGW 1.16, LL 0.61, LW 0.59, SL 1.80, SW 1.51. Legs: 1423 (I: 14.33; II: 12.25; III: 10.58; IV: 13.00); ratio tibia I length:CW = 1:0.69. Epigynum ( Fig. 16c–e ). Fossa longer than wide, weakly divided by a median ridge; anterolateral fossa margins extended as thin, flangelike laminae (“fl” in Fig. 16c ) over the anterolateral fossa floor and copulatory openings (these flanges may be broken off— Fig. 16d ); posterior fossa floor with a pair of adjacent “socket-like” recesses. Copulatory duct openings anterolateral, widely separated. Internal genitalia. Copulatory ducts very short, of moderate width; spermathecae small.

Distribution. Known only from Eungella NP area, mideastern Queensland.

Etymology. The species name refers to the large size of the male palpal ventral conductor process.

Figures

Fig. 8. Distribution records: (a), Jamberoo spp.: J. johnnoblei, d; J. boydensis, h; J. actensis, p; J. australis, s. (b), Couranga spp.: C. kioloa, d; C. diehappy, h. (c), Karriella spp.: K. treenensis, N; K. walpolensis, s. (d), Elleguna spp.: E. major, n; E. minor, d. (e), Asmea spp.: A. akrikensis, p; A. hayllari, s; A. capella, h; A. mullerensis, N.

Fig. 16. Elleguna major. (a,b), male palp (holotype): a, ventral; b, retrolateral. (c–e), epigynum: c, ventral, fl = flange (KS57656); d, ventral, flanges broken (KS83624); e, dorsal—internal genitalia (KS83624). Scale lines 0.5 mm: upper, a,b; lower, c–e.