Zephyrarchaea janineae 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 : 11-13

Zephyrarchaea janineae Rix & Harvey sp. n. Figs 1C8I9F1121

Austrarchaea sp. Main, 1995: 153.

Karri Forest Assassin Spider

Type material.

Holotype male: Karri Valley, 'Karri Valley Hideaway Cottages’, off Hopgarden Road, west of Pemberton, Western Australia, Australia, 34°24'59"S, 115°50'52"E, sifting elevated leaf litter in wet Marri and Agonis forest, 26-28.VIII.2006, M. Rix, J. Wojcieszek (WAM T89559).

Paratypes: Allotype female, same data as holotype (WAM T118981).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA: Western Australia:Karri Valley: 'Karri Valley Hideaway Cottages’, off Hopgarden Road, west of Pemberton, 34°24'57"S, 115°50'50"E, sifting elevated leaf litter in wet Marri and Agonis forest, 3.V.2008, M. Rix, M. Harvey, 2 juveniles (WAM T89565DNA: KV-38-J/KV-39-J). Greater Hawke National Park: Gloucester Road, ~360 m off Pemberton-Northcliffe Road, 34°21'01"S, 116°01'14"E, sifting leaf litter and beating grass-trees in very wet area, 16.X.2009, D. & S. Harms, 1 juvenile (WAM T114035DNA: GL-160-J). Dombakup State Forest: Marri Road, 15.I.1979, M. Gray, 4 juveniles (AMS KS15242). Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park: near Cape Leeuwin, 34°22'00"S, 115°09'16"E, sifting elevated leaf litter in coastal Agonis forest, 15.VII.2009, M. Rix, 2♂ (WAM T94476); same data except 16.IV.2009, 1♀, 5 juveniles (WAM T97464DNA: CL-163-J/CL-164-J/CL-165-J); Sugarloaf Road, near Cape Naturaliste, 33°33'31"S, 115°01'18"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Agonis , 30.III.2008, M. Rix, 1 juvenile (WAM T89561DNA: CN-32-J); Sugarloaf Road, near Cape Naturaliste, 33°33'29"S, 115°01'25"E, sifting elevated leaf litter under Agonis , 25.IV.2008, M. Rix, 2 juveniles (WAM T89562DNA: CN-33-J). Treen Brook State Forest: side road fire track off Vasse Highway, 34°26'45"S, 115°59'00"E, sifting leaf litter and teasing low shrubs, 14.X.2009, D. & S. Harms, 1 juvenile (WAM T114036DNA: TB-161-J); 8 km W. of Pemberton, 13.II.1979, M. Gray, 2 juveniles (AMS KS15341). Wellington National Park: Lennard Drive, near turnoff to Rapids Picnic Ground, 33°23 ’59” S, 115°57 ’52” E, sifting elevated leaf litter, dense Jarrah forest with Agonis on slope leading to Collie River, 141 m, 18.IX.2010, S. & D. Harms, 1♀ (WAM T112584DNA: CO-158-F); same data except 25.IX.2010, M. Rix, J. Wojcieszek, 1 juvenile (WAM T114034DNA: CO-159-J).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym in honour of Dr Janine Wojcieszek, for helping to discover the first live specimens of this species in 2006, and therefore catalysing the Western Australian Museum’s 'archaeid project’ in the half decade since 2007.

Diagnosis.

Zephyrarchaea janineae can be distinguished from other known congeners except Zephyrarchaea mainae by the presence of six dorsal, hump-like tubercles on the abdomen (Figs 1C, 11 A–B); and from Zephyrarchaea mainae by the more tapered, spiniform apex of tegular sclerite 1 (TS 1) (Figs 11 D–F).

This species can also be distinguished from other genotyped taxa (see Fig. 3) by the following three unique nucleotide substitutions for COI (n = 11): G(87), G(132), T(609).

Description.

Holotype male: Total length 2.92; leg I femur 1.87; F1/CL ratio 1.76. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown; legs tan brown with darker annulations; abdomen mottled grey-brown and beige, with reddish-brown dorsal scute and sclerites (Fig. 11B). Carapace short (CH/CL ratio 1.60); 1.06 long, 1.71 high, 1.01 wide; ‘neck’ 0.59 wide; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) near posterior third of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.65), carapace with pronounced concave depression anterior to HPC; ‘head’ not strongly elevated dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.22) (Fig. 8I). Chelicerae with proximal tuft and additional comb of accessory setae on anterior face of paturon (Fig. 11C). Abdomen 1.54 long, 1.08 wide; with three pairs of dorsal hump-like tubercles (HT 1-6); dorsal scute fused anteriorly to epigastric scle rites, extending posteriorly to first pair of hump-like tubercles; HT 3-6 each covered by separate dorsal sclerites. Unexpanded pedipalp (Figs 11 D–F) pyriform, with broad, distally curved embolus supported by conductor sclerites 1-2; tegular sclerite 1 (TS 1) porrect, slightly curved in prolateral view, with tapered, spiniform apex; TS 2-3 projecting beyond retro-distal rim of tegulum.

Allotype female: Total length 4.10; leg I femur 1.97; F1/CL ratio 1.66. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown; legs tan brown with darker annulations; abdomen mottled grey-brown and beige (Fig. 11A). Carapace short (CH/CL ratio 1.70); 1.19 long, 2.03 high, 1.15 wide; ‘neck’ 0.69 wide; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) approaching posterior quarter of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.70), carapace with pronounced concave depression anterior to HPC; ‘head’ moderately elevated dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.26) (Fig. 9F). Chelicerae without accessory setae on anterior face of paturon. Abdomen 2.62 long, 2.15 wide; with three pairs of dorsal hump-like tubercles (HT 1-6). Internal genitalia (Fig. 11G) with cluster of ≤ 15 sausage-shaped spermathecae either side of gonopore, clusters widely separated along midline of genital plate.

Variation: Males (n = 3): total length 2.92-3.15; carapace length 1.03-1.10; carapace height 1.67-1.82; CH/CL ratio 1.60-1.66. Females (n = 3): total length 3.03-4.10; carapace length 1.14-1.19; carapace height 1.92-2.03; CH/CL ratio 1.69-1.70.

Distribution and habitat.

Zephyrarchaea janineae is known from the high rainfall province (see Hopper and Gioia 2004) of southern Western Australia, from the Leeuwin-Naturaliste and Wellington National Parks (near Bunbury) east to Pemberton (Fig. 21). It is the dominant assassin spider of the south-western Karri ( Eucalyptus diversicolor ) forest and surrounding areas, and has been collected by beating and sifting elevated leaf litter in wet forested habitats and in coastal groves of Peppermint ( Agonis sp.). Six juvenile specimens first collected by M. Gray in 1979 in the Treen Brook and Dombakup State Forests near Pemberton (see Main 1995) almost certainly belong to this species.

Conservation status.

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