Novakiella boletus, Framenau & Vink & Scharff & Baptista & Castanheira, 2021

Framenau, Volker W., Vink, Cor J., Scharff, Nikolaj, Baptista, Renner L. C. & Castanheira, Pedro de S., 2021, Review of the Australian and New Zealand orb-weaving spider genus Novakiella (Araneae, Araneidae), Zoosystematics and Evolution 97 (2), pp. 393-405 : 393

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zse.97.67788
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A32F2CCD-3CB8-4570-87D1-3B38CA555E3C
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2181EC8F-7BE5-4ECD-92EC-9FB21DD4B177
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:2181EC8F-7BE5-4ECD-92EC-9FB21DD4B177
treatment provided by	Zoosystematics and Evolution by Pensoft
scientific name	Novakiella boletus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Novakiella boletus sp. nov.

Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 , 7 View Figure 7

Type material.

Holotype male from Maits Rest, 10 km W of Apollo Bay, Otway Ranges, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, 38°45'S, 143°34'E, 16.iii.1992, G. Milledge leg. (MV K9867).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: 1 male, Coolah Tops National Park, off Gemini Road Loop , 31°48'59"S, 150°10'31"E, beating, 12-13.iv.2010, M. G. Rix & D. Harms leg. ( WAM T102788) GoogleMaps ; South Australia: 1 female, Kelly Hill Caves camping area, Kangaroo Island , 35°59'S, 136°54'E, 09.xi.1987, D. Hirst leg. (SAM) GoogleMaps ; 1 male, Loftia Recreation Park , 35°02'S, 138°42'E, pitfall traps, 20-27.iii.1990, D. Hirst leg. (SAM) GoogleMaps . Tasmania: 1 male, Junction Creek, Arthur Plains West, 43°5'S, 146°16'E, 08.ii.1966, A. Neboiss leg. (MV K9862) GoogleMaps ; 3 females, 3.8 km SE of Beechford , 41°02'50.6"S, 146°59'20.94"E, May 2021, vehicle vibration ( QVM:2021:13:0514-5, 2021:13:0517) (examination by image) GoogleMaps . Victoria: 1 male, Sherbrook Forest , 37°53'S, 145°21'E (MV K9864) GoogleMaps .

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a Latin noun in apposition - Novakiella boletus - meaning mushroom and it refers to the distinctly mushroom-shaped conductor lobe that is reminiscent of a chanterelle ( Cantharellus spp.).

Diagnosis.

Male N. boletus sp. nov. can be distinguished from N. trituberculosa by the weaker apico-prolateral spur on the tibia of leg II (Fig. 1E View Figure 1 vs Fig. 5C View Figure 5 ) and the morphology of key pedipalp sclerites, specifically the mushroom-shaped conductor lobe (two-lobed in N. trituberculosa ) (Fig. 1C View Figure 1 vs Fig. 5F View Figure 5 ). Females of N. boletus sp. nov. differ from those of N. trituberculosa by details in the epigyne plate, specifically its transverse wrinkles that are more pronounced and mainly limited to the lateral margins in N. trituberculosa (Fig. 3C View Figure 3 vs Fig. 6C View Figure 6 ).

Description.

Male (based on holotype, MV K9867): Total length: 6.44. Carapace (Fig. 4A View Figure 4 ) 2.41 long, 2.08 wide, reddish-brown with black lateral margins, and yellowish setae mainly on the subquadrate cephalic area, fovea longer than wide, covered by a long black spot. Eyes ringed in black, lateral ones located on small tubercles (Fig. 4A View Figure 4 ). AME 0.22, ALE 0.10, PME 0.16, PLE 0.13; row of eyes: AME 0.58, PME 0.36, PLE 0.85. Chelicerae with paturon dark brown and fangs reddish brown; four promarginal teeth with the apical and third largest, three retromarginal teeth of equal size (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ). Legs (Fig. 4A, B View Figure 4 ) yellowish-brown, mottled with chestnut brown spots; tibia of leg II with spur represented by a small apico-prolateral bulge that carries a strong macroseta; femur IV darker than other legs; leg formula IV > I > II > III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 4.16 + 1.56 + 3.70 + 3.25 + 1.17 = 13.84, II - 3.38 + 1.36 + 2.92 + 0.90 + 1.11 = 9.67, III - 2.34 + 0.78 + 1.36 + 1.30 + 0.78 = 6.56, IV - 3.51 +0.97 + 2.40 + 2.21 + 0.91 = 9.94. Labium wider than long, subtriangular and brown, with beige apical portion (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ); endites rounded, light brown with beige edges (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ). Sternum a little longer than wide, reddish brown, with thick darker and wavy contour and yellowish centrally placed guanine patch (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ). Abdomen (Fig. 4A, B View Figure 4 ) 3.58 long, 2.34 wide; subtriangular, longer than wide, humeral humps conspicuous and posterior end reaching over spinnerets; dorsum yellowish-brown, with diamond-shaped patch with dark contour and a black longitudinal median line from pedicel towards posterior end, meagerly covered with long brown setae; sides beige with sparse black lines and yellow setae; venter beige irregularly covered with black spots. Pedipalps (Figs 4D-F View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 ) length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + cymbium = total length): 0.78 + 0.32 + 0.26 + 1.04 = 2.40; radix thick; conductor lobe mushroom-shaped, with a projected base ending in a rounded tip and a large apical lamellar portion, which is concave at its middle portion, expanded into a wide rounded mesal projection and with its ectal border bearing a dense and dark field of scale-like structures; terminal apophysis apically projected, and longer than wide, slightly twisted and tapering to its tip; conductor rectangular and projected from behind embolus into a flat tip; embolus very thick and long, ending in a very sclerotised distally curved tip; median apophysis stout, with a smaller basal portion and a strong median curvature, ending in a long and flattened basally pointing acute projection.

Female (SAM; from Kelly Hill Caves camping area, Kangaroo Island): Total length 8.5. Carapace (Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ) 3.7 long, 2.9 wide, as in male but with larger anterior portion. Eyes, chelicerae, legs, labium, endites and sternum generally as in male (Fig. 6A, B View Figure 6 ). Eye measurements: AME 0.2, ALE 0.11, PME 0.14, PLE 0.15; row of eyes: AME 0.68, PME 49, PLE 1.46. Pedipalp length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + cymbium = total length): 1.14 + 0.50 + 0.49 + 1.18 = 3.31. Leg formula IV > I > II > III; and length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 4.00 + 1.62 + 3.20 + 3.00 + 1.02 = 12.84, II - 3.75 + 1.60 + 2.89 + 0.96 + 0.99 = 10.19, III - 2.40 + 0.91 + 1.44 + 1.45 + 0.86 = 7.06, IV - 4.12 + 1.40 + 2.58 + 2.53 + 1.05 = 11.68. Abdomen (Fig. 6A, B View Figure 6 ) 4.5 long, 4.5 wide, with a more pronounced subtriangular shape than the male, dorsum with colour similar to male, except for the lighter folium and absent median line; venter as in male. Epigyne (Fig. 6C View Figure 6 ) plate trapezoidal with a rectangular anterior portion, crossed by long transverse wrinkles; scape broken off, but with a wide rectangular torn basis (Fig. 6C View Figure 6 ). Spermatheca was not dissected to preserve the only available female specimen.

Habitat preferences and life history.

Mature males of N. boletus sp. nov. were collected between February and April, females were found in May and November. Habitat descriptions include Nothofagus cunninghamii (Myrtle Beech) forest, Eucalyptus amygdalina coastal forest, and "eucalypt forest with tree fern gully", suggesting this species occurs predominantly in temperate forests and rainforests.

Remarks.

Males and female N. boletus sp. nov. have not been found together, but somatic features such as size range, carapace (Fig. 5A View Figure 5 vs Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ), sternum (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 vs Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ) and leg (Fig. 5A View Figure 5 vs Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ) colouration match well and they are currently assumed to be the same species.