Austrarchaea judyae Sunshine Hinterland Assassin Spider Rix & Harvey

Rix, Michael G. & Harvey, Mark S., 2011, Australian Assassins, Part I: A review of the Assassin Spiders (Araneae, Archaeidae) of mid-eastern Australia, ZooKeys 123, pp. 1-100 : 20-22

Austrarchaea judyae Sunshine Hinterland Assassin Spider Rix & Harvey sp. n. Figs 4F-G5A-C7C8C1533

Type material.

Holotype male: Conondale National Park, walking trail from Booloumba Creek Day Use Area No. 2, Queensland, Australia, 26°38'38"S, 152°38'50"E, sifting elevated leaf litter, subtropical rainforest, 187 m, 30.IV.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms (QMB S90190).

Paratypes: Allotype female, same data as holotype (QMB S90191); 2 females and 2 juveniles, same data as holotype (WAM T112563DNA: Ar67-76-F/Ar67-78-J).

Other material examined.

AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Conondale National Park: off Booloumba Creek Forest Drive, 26°40'45"S, 152°38'06"E, sifting elevated leaf litter, subtropical rainforest, 351 m, 30.IV.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms, 1 juvenile (WAM T112562DNA: Ar66-79-J); Booloumba Creek, leaf litter, 13-18.IV.1976, R. Raven, 1 juvenile (QMB S30822); "Conondale Range", rainforest, 1-3.V.1976, R. Raven, 1 juvenile (QMB S29324); "Conondale National Park", 26°43'30"S, 152°36'00"E, canopy fogging, 26.I.1998, R. Kitching, 1 juvenile (ANIC). Maleny: 7 km SE. of Maleny, rainforest, 900 m, 18.VI.-15.VIII.1982, S. & J. Peck, 2♂ (ANIC). Mapleton Forest Reserve: Bonyee Walk, off Mapleton Forest Drive, 26°33'28"S, 152°51'58"E, sifting elevated leaf litter, subtropical rainforest, 175 m, 1.V.2010, M. Rix, D. Harms, 1♂, 8 juveniles (WAM T112564DNA: Ar68-80-M/Ar68-81-J/Ar68-82-J).

Additional material examined (of tentative identification).

AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Oakview State Forest: “summit”, 26°10'S, 152°20'E, pyrethrum on trees, rainforest, 600 m, 26.V.2002, G. Monteith, 1 juvenile (QMB S90180).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym in honour of Judy Rix, for her love of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and for a lifetime of generosity and support to the senior author.

Diagnosis.

Austrarchaea judyae can be distinguished from all other Archaeidae from mid-eastern Australia by the small body size of males and females (Fig. 6) and by the unique shape of the conductor (Figs 15D-E), which is ‘spade-shaped’ and laterally incised.

This species cannot be distinguished from other genotyped taxa from mid-eastern Australia on the basis of unique nucleotide substitutions, but can be distinguished from all other genotyped taxa from south-eastern Queensland (see Fig. 3B) by the following three nucleotide substitutions for COI and COII (n = 6): G(1010), A(1413), T(1560).

Description.

Holotype male: Total length 2.44; leg I femur 2.69; F1/CL ratio 2.92. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown; legs tan-brown with darker annulations; abdomen mottled grey-brown and beige, palest posteriorly, with darker reddish-brown dorsal scute and sclerites (Fig. 15B). Carapace very tall (CH/CL ratio 2.38); 0.92 long, 2.19 high, 0.85 wide; ‘neck’ 0.42 wide; bearing two pairs of rudimentary horns; highest point of pars cephalica (HPC) near posterior margin of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC to post-ocular length 0.89), carapace slightly concave anterior to HPC; ‘head’ strongly elevated postero-dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.43) (Fig. 8C). Chelicerae with short brush of accessory setae on anterior face of paturon (Figs 4F, 15C). Abdomen 1.28 long, 0.97 wide; with three pairs of dorsal hump-like tubercles (HT 1-6); dorsal scute fused anteriorly to epigastric sclerites, extending posteriorly to first pair of hump-like tubercles; HT 3-6 each covered by separate dorsal sclerites (Fig. 5A). Unexpanded pedipalp (Figs 15D-F) with laterally incised, ‘spade-shaped’ conductor; tegular sclerite 1 (TS 1) spiniform, obscured by conductor in retrolateral view; TS 2 spiniform, longer than TS 1; TS 2a sinuous, largely obscured by TS 2; TS 3 embedded proximally within distal haematodocha, with broadly-pointed apex projecting beyond retro-distal rim of tegulum.

Allotype female: Total length 3.08; leg I femur 2.97; F1/CL ratio 2.70. Cephalothorax dark reddish-brown; legs tan-brown with darker annulations; abdomen mottled grey-brown and beige, palest behind hump-like tubercles (Fig. 15A). Carapace very tall (CH/CL ratio 2.41); 1.10 long, 2.65 high, 0.97 wide; ‘neck’ 0.54 wide; bearing two pairs of rudimentary horns; dual highest points of pars cephalica (HPC1-2) near posterior third of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC1 to post-ocular length 0.68) and near posterior margin of ‘head’ (ratio of HPC2 to post-ocular length 0.88), carapace slightly concave between HPC1 and HPC2; ‘head’ strongly elevated postero-dorsally (post-ocular ratio 0.46) (Fig. 7C). Chelicerae without accessory setae on anterior face of paturon. Abdomen 1.90 long, 1.54 wide; with three pairs of dorsal hump-like tubercles (HT 1-6). Internal genitalia with dense cluster of ≤ 15 variably shaped spermathecae on either side of gonopore, clusters meeting near midline of genital plate (Fig. 15G); innermost (anterior) spermathecae longest, sausage-shaped, curved antero-laterally; outermost (posterior) spermathecae bulbous; other spermathecae variably pyriform, straight, directed antero-laterally.

Variation: Males (n=4): total length 2.44-2.51; carapace length 0.92-0.95; carapace height 2.19-2.31; CH/CL ratio 2.37-2.43. Females (n=3): total length 2.67-3.08; carapace length 1.03-1.10; carapace height 2.46-2.65; CH/CL ratio 2.30-2.41. Two male specimens from near Maleny (ANIC) are in poor condition, but seem to have a slightly broader, less markedly incised conductor, suggesting that there may be some population-level variation in the shape of the conductor in this species.

Distribution and habitat.

Austrarchaea judyae is known from rainforest habitats on the Blackall and Conondale Ranges of south-eastern Queensland, in the Conondale National Park, Mapleton Forest Reserve and in the region surrounding Maleny/Montville (Fig. 33). A juvenile specimen from Oakview State Forest (near Gympie) may also belong to this species based on proximity.

Conservation status.

This species has a relatively widespread distribution in several National Parks and Forest Reserves, and is not considered to be of conservation concern.