Oxyopes gracilipes (White, 1849)

Baehr, Barbara C., Harms, Danilo, Duperre, Nadine & Raven, Robert, 2017, The Australian Lynx Spiders (Araneae, Oxyopidae, Oxyopes) of the Godeffroy Collection, including the description of a new species, Evolutionary Systematics 1 (1), pp. 11-37 : 20

Oxyopes gracilipes (White, 1849) Figs 8 A–E, 19C, D

Sphasus gracilipes White, 1849: 5 (Df). Oxyopes gracilipes : Vink and Sirvid 1998: 2, f. 1-8 (f, Sm); Vink and Sirvid 2000: 637, f. 2A-B (m, S); Whitehouse and Grimshaw 2007: 98, f. 7-8, 11, 12-14, 23 (mf); Paquin, Vink and Dupérré 2010: 93, f. 57.1-5 (mf).

Sphasus gracilipes 572. Oxyopes elegans : L. Koch, 1878, 1008-1010, Taf. 88 Fig. 5 + 5 a und 6-6 b, Australien, Sydney, Rockhampton, Peak Downs, 6 Syntypen (Mus. GODEFFROY Nr. 16494) (37) ( Rack 1961).

Sphasus gracilipes (ZMH-A0000007). Oxyopes elegans L. Koch, 1878 male Syntype, Peak Downs = Oxyopes gracilipes (White, 1849). Misidentification. Part.

Material examined.

MALE SYNTYPE (ZMH-A0000007), from Queensland, Peak Downs, "now large open cut coking coal mine in Queensland located 31 km SSE of Moranbah", 22°15 ’9.60” S, 148°10 ’30.00” E, Godeffroy Collection.

Diagnosis.

Males of Oxyopes gracilipes differ from the other two described species with males in having a short retro-basal, hooked cymbial process (Figs 8E, 19D). Female see Vink and Sirvid (2000).

Description.

Male (ZMH-A0000007). Total length 5.85. Prosoma 2.32 long, 1.79 wide, pl/pw 1.30; sternum 1.04 long, 0.99 wide, sl/sw 1.12; opisthosoma 2.43 long, 1.37 wide. Eight eyes in four rows with six eyes forming a hexagon, AME smallest ALE biggest, others equal in size; AME 0.10; ALE 0.20; PLE 0.16; PME 0.16; ALE–ALE 0.16; ALE–AME 0.05; AME–AME 0.14; ALE–PLE 0.14; PLE–PME 0.21; PME–PME 0.22. Clypeus 0.40 high with a pair of thin brown longitudinal stripes. Prosoma pale, with broad brown bands laterally and one triangular medially, broadly oval, posteriorly rounded, fovea short 0.14 of prosoma length. Chelicerae paturon pale with thin dark longitudinal stripe and lateral condyle. Endites and sternum pale, labium and margins of sternum dark brown; opisthosoma pale bleached; venter pale with a dark brown band medially. Legs pale scattered with dark brown markings. Male palp (Figs 8 C–E, 19C, D): cymbium oval, apex elongated, cymbium with short retro-basal, hooked process, covered with pale setae and 1 prolateral spine in basal third; median tegular apophysis (mta) broadly pear-shaped with retrolateral triangular tip, conductor membranous, finger-shaped, with hook-like distal part, originating retro-basally; embolus semicircular, with sharp retro-distal tip fitting in distal tegular apopysis and apex of conductor; tibia with rectangular ventral tibial apophysis.

Distribution.

Original records from eastern Australia with specimens from New South Wales (Sydney) and Queensland (Peak Downs & Rockhampton). The ALA lists many more records from eastern Australia, South Australia and southwestern Australia that need to be verified.

Comments.

The vials of Oxyopes elegans in the ZMH collection (Mus. GODEFFROY Nr. 16494) contains mixed samples of this species, Oxyopes godeffroyi sp. n. and Oxyopes gracilipes ; a widespread species in Australia and New Zealand. It is possible that Koch (1878) treated all samples as one species but the re-examination of the historic material clearly shows that this collection comprised three species.