Zephyrarchaea robinsi (Harvey, 2002a) Rix, Michael G. & Harvey, Mark S., 2012

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 : 14-15

Zephyrarchaea robinsi (Harvey, 2002a) comb. n. Figs 9G1323

Austrarchaea robinsi Harvey, 2002a: 35, figs 1-4.

Eastern Massif Assassin Spider

Type material.

Holotype female: Stirling Range National Park, Ellen Peak, Western Australia, Australia, 34°21'20"S, 118°19'45"E, pitfall trap near summit, 28.V.1996, S. Barrett (WAM T42580).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Stirling Range National Park: Ellen Peak, 34°21'30"S, 118°19'57"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Lepidosperma sedges in montane heathland near summit, 1007 m, 6.XI.2007, M. Rix et al., 2 juveniles (WAM T89558DNA: EP-40-J/EP-41-J); south face of Pyungoorup Peak, 34°21'54"S, 118°19'44"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Lepidosperma sedges along shaded creek line near waterfall, 5.VIII.2008, M. Rix, M. Harvey, 1 juvenile (moulted cuticle) (WAM T94090); Bluff Knoll, summit track, 800 m SW. of summit, 34°22'49"S, 118°15'01"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Lepidosperma sedges in montane heathland, 897 m, 20.VI.2010, M. Rix, J.D. Roberts, 1 juvenile (WAM T114032DNA: BK-149-J); Bluff Knoll, off summit track, 900 m SW. of summit, 34°22'52"S, 118°15'00"E, sifting elevated leaf litter in eucalypt grove near creek line, 877 m, 20.VI.2010, M. Rix, J.D. Roberts, 1 juvenile (WAM T114031DNA: BK-148-J); Bluff Knoll, off summit track, 400 m SW. of summit, 34°22'34"S, 118°15'15"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Lepidosperma sedges in montane heathland, 1065 m, 24.V.2011, M. Rix, M. Harvey, G. Binford, 1 juvenile (WAM T118987).

Diagnosis.

Females of Zephyrarchaea robinsi can be distinguished from Zephyrarchaea janineae and Zephyrarchaea mainae by the absence of dorsal hump-like tubercles on the abdomen (Fig. 13A); from Zephyrarchaea austini sp. n., Zephyrarchaea grayi sp. n., Zephyrarchaea marae sp. n. and Zephyrarchaea vichickmani sp. n. by the shallow post-ocular depression in lateral view (Fig. 9G); and from Zephyrarchaea barrettae sp. n. and Zephyrarchaea melindae sp. n. by the much shorter carapace (CH/CL ratio <1.70) (Figs 7, 13A).

This species can also be distinguished from other genotyped taxa (see Fig. 3) by the following three unique nucleotide substitutions for COI and COII (n = 4): C(162), A(531), G(1442).

Description.

Holotype female: Total length 3.69; leg I femur 1.97; F1/CL ratio 1.60. Cephalothorax reddish-brown; legs tan brown with darker annulations; abdomen variably beige-grey (Fig. 13A). Carapace short (CH/CL ratio 1.60); 1.23 long, 1.97 high, 1.13 wide; ‘neck’ 0.74 wide; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) approaching posterior third of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.61), carapace with shallow concave depression anterior to HPC; ‘head’ not strongly elevated dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.24) (Fig. 9G). Chelicerae without accessory setae on anterior face of paturon. Abdomen 2.10 long, 1.78 wide; spherical in lateral profile, without dorsal hump-like tubercles. Internal genitalia (Figs 13 B–D) with cluster of ≤ 15 sausage-shaped spermathecae either side of gonopore, clusters widely separated along midline of genital plate.

Male: Unknown.

Distribution and habitat.

Zephyrarchaea robinsi is known only from Ellen Peak, Bluff Knoll and the south face of Pyungoorup Peak, on the eastern massif of the Stirling Range National Park of southern Western Australia (east of Chester Pass) (Fig. 23). Specimens have been collected by beating and sifting sedges ( Lepidosperma sp.) in montane heathland habitats and along mesic, shaded creek lines.

Conservation status.

This species is a short-range endemic taxon ( Harvey 2002b), with a maximum total range of less than 10 km2, and all known populations in the eastern Stirling Range National Park potentially threatened by fire, dieback disease (affecting montane vegetation) and climate change.