Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869

Machado, Miguel, Teixeira, Renato Augusto & Milledge, Graham A., 2019, On the Australian Bark Crab Spider Genus Stephanopis: Taxonomic Review and Description of Seven New Species (Araneae: Thomisidae: Stephanopinae), Records of the Australian Museum 71 (6), pp. 217-276 : 218-220

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.3853/j.2201-4349.71.2019.1698
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7EDBAB7F-0E3B-47D7-AA29-0906728ADA05
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/26714D71-FFB0-FFF5-0469-FEB5FC4CFE8A
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869
status

Treatment

Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 View in CoL View at ENA

Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869: 61 View in CoL , pl. 5, figs 33–39.—L. Koch, 1874: 495, pl. 38, fig. 1.— Simon, 1895: 1054, fig. 1091.

Type species. Stephanopis altifrons O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 View in CoL .

Diagnosis. Stephanopis species somewhat resemble those of other stephanopine genera such as Isala L. Koch, 1876 , Synalus Simon, 1895 and Borboropactus Simon, 1884 due to features such as their elongated body, bark-dweller habitus, crypsis by detritus adhesion and predominantly dark-yellow to brown body colouration ( Fig. 1 View Figure 1 A–D). However, they can be distinguished from other stephanopines by their high clypeus and cephalic prominence ( Figs 1A View Figure 1 , 2B View Figure 2 , 3B View Figure 3 ), dorsoventrally depressed prosoma and robust legs with dorsal acute projections along their patellae and tibiae ( Figs 32A View Figure 32 , 33B View Figure 33 ). The male palp can be diagnosed by a ventral pair of long filamentous setae on the tibia ( Fig. 3C,E View Figure 3 ), a well-developed retro lateral Pcym directed towards to the tegulum, embolus with pars pendula, rigid and fixed at its basis but flexible at its distal half ( Fig. 3C,E View Figure 3 ), and an acute RTA ( Figs 1E View Figure 1 , 3D,F View Figure 3 ). The female genitalia have a diagnostic shallow and flattened atrium on the epigynal plate, with slit-shaped CO ( Fig. 2C,E View Figure 2 ); spermathecae asymmetrically coiled, with porous glandular-heads ( Fig. 1F View Figure 1 ) and preceded by a wide and rounded pair of copulatory ducts looking like anterior chambers ( Fig. 2D,F View Figure 2 ).

Description. Bark and litter-dwelling spiders with slight sexual size dimorphism and body colouration varying from green to black, brown, grey or orange) ( Figs 1 View Figure 1 A–D, 18A–C, 21A–D, 39A–B). Both prosoma and opisthosoma have a rugose tegument and are covered by different types of specialized setae, with branches and barbs that increase debris adhesion in some species and help the spiders to be camouflaged on the substrate (see Gawryszewski, 2014). The cephalic prominence varies in height and shape, being more or less rounded and stout (e.g., S. altifrons ) or split into two acute vertical ocular projections (e.g., S. bicornis ). Legs I and II stronger than III and IV, femora with many setiferous tubercles and tibia and metatarsi armed with ventral macrosetae; opisthosoma varying from oval to trapezoidal in shape.

Composition. Twenty-two species distributed within the Australian region: Stephanopis altifrons O. Pickard- Cambridge, 1869; Stephanopis angulata Rainbow, 1899 ; Stephanopis arenata sp. nov.; Stephanopis armata L. Koch, 1874 ; Stephanopis barbipes Keyserling, 1980 ; Stephanopis bicornis L. Koch, 1874 ; Stephanopis cambridgei Thorell, 1870 ; Stephanopis carcinoides sp. nov.; Stephanopis corticalis L. Koch, 1876 ; Stephanopis erinacea Karsch, 1878 ; Stephanopis fissifrons Rainbow, 1920 ; Stephanopis flagellata sp. nov.; Stephanopis lata O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 ; Stephanopis longimana Thorell, 1881 ; Stephanopis monulfi Chrysanthus, 1964 ; Stephanopis nana sp. nov.; Stephanopis nigra O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 ; Stephanopis palliolata Simon, 1908 ; Stephanopis rufiventris Bradley, 1871 ; Stephanopis similis sp. nov.; Stephanopis spiralis sp. nov.; and Stephanopis squalida sp. nov. There are more than 16 Neotropical species distributed along South and Central America and eight species from the Andean region, all beyond the scope of the present study.

Distribution. Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania), Papua New Guinea (Morobe, East New Britain, Western Province) and Indonesia (Papua) ( Figs 13 View Figure 13 , 24 View Figure 24 , 35 View Figure 35 , 42 View Figure 42 , 49 View Figure 49 ).