Zephyrarchaea marae Rix & Harvey

Rix, Michael G. & Harvey, Mark S., 2012, Australian Assassins, Part II: A review of the new assassin spider genus Zephyrarchaea (Araneae, Archaeidae) from southern Australia, ZooKeys 191, pp. 1-62 : 19-20

Zephyrarchaea marae Rix & Harvey sp. n. Figs 4D5 C–D, 5 F–G 6B, 6E8A, 8C9B1727

West Gippsland Assassin Spider

Type material.

Holotype male: Tarra-Bulga National Park, Tarra Valley, near Tarra Valley Picnic Area, Victoria, Australia, 38°26'51"S, 146°32'17"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under tree ferns, Nothofagus rainforest, 368 m, 1.IV.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms (MV K11580DNA: Ar18-138-M).

Paratypes: Allotype female, Gunyah Rainforest State Reserve, Toorah Road, 2 km SSW. of Gunyah, Victoria, Australia, 38°32'30"S, 146°19'00"E, pitfall trap, Nothofagus cunninghamii forest, 14.IX.-14.XI.1995, G. Milledge (MV K5921); 1 male, same data except 5.III.-7.V.1996 (MV K5923).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA: Victoria:Tarra-Bulga National Park: same data as holotype, 3 juveniles (WAM T114025DNA: Ar18 –139-J/Ar18– 140-J); 0.2 km W. of Tarra Valley Picnic Area, 38°27'S, 146°32'E, pitfall trap, Nothofagus cunninghamii forest, 14.XI.1995 - 10.I.1996, G. Milledge, 1 juvenile (MV K5922). Dandenong Ranges National Park: Sherbrooke Forest, near start of Welch Track, off Nation Road, 37°54'24"S, 145°22'10"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under tree ferns, wet Mountain Ash/tree fern forest, 28.III.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms, 1♀, 2 juveniles (WAM T114024DNA: Ar13 –135-F/Ar13–136-J/Ar13– 137-J). Mount Worth State Park: Giants Circuit from Moonlight Creek Picnic Area, 38°16'54"S, 146°00'35"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under tree fern, complex eucalypt/tree fern forest with thick understorey, 400 m, 31.III.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms, 1 juvenile (WAM T114026DNA: Ar16-141-J).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym in honour of Dr Māra Blosfelds, in recognition of her love for small spiders and the Australian forests.

Diagnosis.

Zephyrarchaea marae can be distinguished from other known congeners except Zephyrarchaea vichickmani by the absence of a proximal tuft or brush on the male chelicerae (Fig. 17C); and from Zephyrarchaea vichickmani by the more sinuous, slender, S-shaped conductor sclerite 2 (C2) (Figs 17 D–E) and the less concave, slightly convex anterior margin of the male diastema adjacent to the ‘neck’ (Fig. 17B). Females further distinguished from other known congeners except Zephyrarchaea vichickmani by the combination of a spherical abdomen (Fig. 17A), strongly concave post-ocular depression in lateral view (Fig. 9B), and moderately elevated ‘head’ dorsally (post-ocular ratio ≥ 0.25) (Fig. 9B).

This species can also be distinguished from other genotyped taxa (see Fig. 3) by the following 12 unique nucleotide substitutions for COI and COII (n = 7): G(69), G(345), G(552), G(762), G(786), A(1026), G(1059), T(1263), G(1341), G(1512), C(1584), C(1587), and can be further distinguished from all other Australian Archaeidae except Zephyrarchaea vichickmani by the absence of a COII amino acid residue at positions 1441-1443.

Description.

Holotype male: Total length 3.03; leg I femur 1.99; F1/CL ratio 1.80. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown; legs tan brown with darker annulations; abdomen mottled grey-brown and beige, with reddish-brown dorsal scute and sclerites (Fig. 17B). Carapace relatively short (CH/CL ratio 1.70); 1.10 long, 1.87 high, 1.08 wide; ‘neck’ 0.61 wide; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) near posterior third of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.66), carapace with pronounced concave depression anterior to HPC; ‘head’ moderately elevated dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.25) (Figs 8A, 8C). Chelicerae with short comb of accessory setae on anterior face of paturon (Fig. 17C). Abdomen 1.64 long, 1.31 wide; almost spherical in lateral profile, without dorsal hump-like tubercles; dorsal scute fused anteriorly to epigastric sclerites, extending posteriorly to cover anterior two-thirds of dorsal abdomen. Unexpanded pedipalp (Figs 17 D–F) bulbous, almost spherical, with gently curved, tapering embolus supported by conductor sclerites 1-2 (C1-2); C2 relatively slender, sinuous, with S-shaped proximal portion; tegular sclerite 1 (TS 1) strongly curved, claw-like in prolateral view, with twisted, flattened and rounded apex; TS 2-3 projecting well beyond retro-distal rim of tegulum.

Allotype female: Total length 3.95; leg I femur 2.10; F1/CL ratio 1.76. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown (with paler, partially encrusted material on ‘neck’); legs tan brown with darker annulations; abdomen variably beige-grey (Fig. 17A). Carapace relatively short (CH/CL ratio 1.86); 1.19 long, 2.22 high, 1.17 wide; ‘neck’ 0.72 wide; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) approaching posterior third of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.62), carapace with pronounced concave depression anterior to HPC; ‘head’ moderately elevated dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.26) (Fig. 9B). Chelicerae without accessory setae on anterior face of paturon. Abdomen 2.31 long, 1.90 wide; spherical in lateral profile, without dorsal hump-like tubercles. Internal genitalia (Fig. 17G) with cluster of ≤ 15 sausage-shaped spermathecae fanning out either side of gonopore, clusters widely separated along midline of genital plate.

Variation: Males (n = 2): total length 3.03-3.23; carapace length 1.09-1.10; carapace height 1.85-1.87; CH/CL ratio 1.69-1.70. Females (n = 2): total length 3.74-3.95; carapace length 1.18-1.19; carapace height 2.09-2.22; CH/CL ratio 1.77-1.86.

Distribution and habitat.

Zephyrarchaea marae is known only from temperate rainforest and mesic closed forest habitats in the Dandenong and Strzelecki Ranges of West Gippsland, east and south-east of Melbourne, Victoria (Fig. 27).

Conservation status.

This specieshas a relatively widespread distribution in several National Parks and State Forests, and is not considered to be of conservation concern.