Maratus melindae corus, Otto & Hill, 2017

Otto, Jürgen C. & Hill, David E., 2017, Five new peacock spiders from Western Australia (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini: Maratus Karsch 1878), Peckhamia 152 (1), pp. 1-97 : 65-68

Maratus melindae corus , new subspecies

This is a subspecies of M. melindae Waldock 2013 .

Type specimens. The holotype (♂ #1) and paratype (♂ #2) males were collected at the Banksia Reserve, Verne Hill (30.39397778°S, 115.1803861°E, 10 SEP 2016, coll. D. Knowles). This is an area of Banksia woodland, dominated by Banksia prionotes . Both types will be deposited in the Western Australian Museum, Perth.

Etymology. The subspecies name (corus, Latin, m., noun in apposition, English translation northwest wind) refers to the relative direction of the locality for this subspecies to the northwest of the type locality for M. melindae .

Diagnosis. Maratus melindae corus closely resembles the type of M. melindae Waldock 2013 , here designated as M. melindae melindae , but both may be separated as follows. In M. melindae melindae (see Waldock 2013) the black central patch is bracketed by red scales along its entire length while in M. melindae corus this is not the case and the red transverse band meets the black patch without wrapping around it. Other characters by which the two subspecies differ are the small black mark just posterior to the large black patch (arrow in Figure 71.2 ) and the wide white tract of the middorsal carapace, both present in M. melindae corus but not described for M. melindae melindae . Both subspecies have been found far apart (Figure 1) at locations that differ in climate and habitat. Other species that M. melindae could be confused with are M. mungaich , M. hortorum and M. gemmifer . However, all three have a black or iridescent blue-white spot at the center of each lateral flap of the fan ( Figure 56 ) which is absent in both subspecies of M. melindae . Females of both subspecies are unknown but can be expected to resemble females of related species in the mungaich group, including the M. gemmifer female described here.

Description of male ( Figures 71 -73). Males were 3.8-4.6 mm in length (n=2). This description pertains to the appearance of living males. See Waldock (2013) for a description of M. m. melindae preserved in alcohol. The clypeus is black with off-white setae projecting forward anteromedially. The chelicerae are black. The eye region including the carapace below the lateral eyes and to the rear of the PLE is covered with dark brown to dark red-brown scales. Otherwise the carapace is mostly black and glabrous except for a median tract of white scales that extends from the rear margin of the eye region half-way to the posterior margin. On either side of the carapace there is a marginal band of white scales and other setae. The PME are closer to the PLE than to the ALE.

The fan of the dorsal opisthosoma ( Figure 71 :2) is wide with a background cover of densely packed iridescent blue to blue-green scales. At the center of the fan is a large, subrectangular black patch within which is a smaller but still relatively large (for the mungaich group) light-blue spot, situated to the rear of the center of that large black patch. Behind the large black patch is a smaller black mark (arrow, Figure 71 :2). From front to rear the fan is crossed by four bands comprised of tightly-packed bright red pigmented scales: a band broken into right and left parts along the anterior margin, a wider band anterior to the black patch, a band broken into two right and two left parts separated by the central black patch and contacting the posterior half of that patch on either side, and a narrow, curved posterior band. There is a small tuft of white colular setae above the black spinnerets.

Legs I and II are shorter than legs III and IV, and legs III are by far the longest. Legs I-II and IV are covered with white scales and other setae. Legs III are decorated as follows: femur black with cover of white to off-white setae in front, patella brown with black ventral fringe, tibia and metatarsus black with black dorsal and ventral fringes, and tarsus covered with long white setae extending over the grey foot pads. Pedipalps are covered with long bright white setae dorsally. Structure of the pedipalps (Figure 73), with a larger outer apex of the embolus and a shorter inner apex, is unremarkable and typical for members of the mungaich group.

the third transverse band of red scales with the large central black spot distinguish this subspecies.

Courtship display ( Figures 74-76 ). As with other members of the mungaich group, the elevated and expanded fan of M. melindae corus is waved behind the raised and extended legs III as the male displays in place or steps from side to side in front of a female. Compared to M. gemmifer which holds legs III well to the side during courtship display to present the gem-like spots on the lateral flaps, M. melindae corus , lacking those spots, includes more active semaphore (raising and lowering) movement of legs III in this display and side to side movements of the fan were less regular and less pronounced ( Figures 75-76 ).

Courtship display by males of several species in the mungaich group is compared in Table 1. This comparison supports our view that M. avibus is closely related to M. caeruleus , and M. gemmifer is closely related to M. mungaich .

Figures

Figure 56. Comparison of the extended fan of M. gemmifer with related members of the mungaich group. 1-3, M. gemmifer from the type locality at Karnup Nature Reserve. 4, M. melindae corus from the type locality for this subspecies at the Banksia Reserve (Verne Hill). 5, M. mungaich from Mt. Dale, 46 km ESE of Perth. 6, M. hortorum from Bungendore Park, 30 km SE of Perth.

Figure 71. Two adult male Maratus melindae corus. 2, The small black mark (arrow) and limited contact of

Figure 74. Two male Maratus melindae corus displaying to a female.

Figure 75. Sequential but not consecutive frames from a 25 FPS video of the courtship display of a male Maratus melindae corus. Arrows indicate movement of legs III, rotation of the fan, and side-stepping relative to the preceding frame. In this sequence symmetrical (1-6) and assymetrical (10-18) waving of legs III can be seen. Note the range of elevations of legs III, including near-vertical positions.

Figure 76. Sequential but not consecutive frames from a 25 FPS video of the courtship display of a male Maratus melindae corus. Arrows indicate movement of legs III, rotation of the fan, and side-stepping relative to the preceding frame. 14-15, Rapid rotation of the fan to the left and then to the right.