Paralampona sherlock, PLATNICK, 2000

PLATNICK, NORMAN I., 2000, A Relimitation And Revision Of The Australasian Ground Spider Family Lamponidae (Araneae: Gnaphosoidea), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2000 (245), pp. 1-328 : 321-322

Paralampona sherlock , new species Figures 796–799 ; Map 91

TYPE: Female holotype from a Berlese sample of mallee litter taken 3.2 km W of Sherlock, 358199S, 1398499E, South Australia (Jan. 12, 1970; R. Taylor), deposited in QMB .

ETYMOLOGY: The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality, in honor of N. S. Platnick.

DIAGNOSIS: Males and females have not been collected together but are matched here on the basis of their bizarre genitalia and their similar distributions in mallee habitats. Males can easily be recognized by the massively inflated retrolateral tibial apophysis (figs. 796, 797), females by the dumbbellshaped spermathecae (figs. 798, 799).

MALE: Total length 1.3. Abdominal dorsum gray, darkest posteriorly. Palpal femur unmodified; retrolateral tibial apophysis inflated (fig. 797); embolus situated distally, curved (fig. 796).

FEMALE: Total length 2.3. Abdomen white, legs pale orange. Epigynum with short, posteriorly situated median septum (fig. 798); spermathecae dumbbell­shaped (fig. 799).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: New South Wales: Booti Booti National Park , 328169S, 1528329E, July 12–16, 1996, pitfalls, sand dunes (L. Wilkie, AMS KS50517–50521 ), 5 ?; 26 km E Euston , 348349S, 1428449E, Feb. 6, 1970, Berlese, open mallee (C. Brooks, QMB), 1 /; Trangie, 328029S, 1478599E, Mar. 8, 1968, dry sclerophyll leaf litter (L. Mound, QMB), 1?. Queensland: Lake Broadwater , via Dalby, 278219S, 1518069E, May 17–Nov. 24, 1995, pitfall (M. Bennie, QMB S34321), 1?, Apr. 22–June 12, 1986, pitfall (M. Bennie, QMB S34313 ), 1?. Victoria: 5 km E Dunolly, 368519S, 1438449E, Aug. 4, 1983, leaf litter (R. Moran, QMB), 1 ?.

DISTRIBUTION: Apparently widespread in drier areas of southeastern Australia, except Tasmania (map 91).

Figures

Map 91. Records of Paralampona sherlock, new species (circles) and P. cobon, new species (square).

Figs. 796–799. Paralampona sherlock, new species. 796. Left male palp, ventral view. 797. Same, retrolateral view. 798. Epigynum, ventral view. 799. Same, dorsal view.