Karaops marrayagong Crews & Harvey, 2011

Crews, Sarah C., 2023, But wait, there's more! Descriptions of new species and undescribed sexes of flattie spiders (Araneae, Selenopidae, Karaops) from Australia, ZooKeys 1150, pp. 1-189 : 1

Karaops marrayagong Crews & Harvey, 2011

Figs 8D, E , 9A-F , 10A, B , Map 4

Karaops marrayagong Crews & Harvey, 2011: 40, figs 27-28 (♀, examined).

New records.

New South Wales • 1 imm.; near Sydney, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden; 33°42.383'S, 151°10.480'E; ~ 178 m; 9 Apr. 2016; S. Crews, P. Harlow leg.; under bark of tree; missing two legs when collected; sel_1088; SCC16_008; (AM KS.126519) • 1♀, 1 imm., 1♂ (reared in captivity); same data as previous, except 33°42.353'S, 151°10.402'E; ~ 125 m; 10 Apr. 2016; S. Crews, P. Harlow, H. Smith leg.; under bark of small eucalypts in gully area on Management Trail; sel_1089-1091; SCC16_009; (AM KS.126520-126522).

Diagnosis.

The female of Karaops marrayagong can be distinguished from K. raveni by the lateral lobes of the epigyne almost touching or touching posteriorly, and the accessory bulbs are separated by more than one accessory bulb width ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 27, 28, 31, 32). The epigynes of K. jarrit and K. marrayagong are very similar ( Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 25-28), and with only a few specimens of each, it is difficult to determine if differences between the two will remain useful for their separation. The median field is wider and shorter in K. marrayagong than in K. jarrit , and the accessory bulbs of the former are closer together. Although many people find the idea of using geography to separate species problematic, currently the easiest way to distinguish these two species is that K. jarrit is found in the southwest of Western Australia and K. marrayagong is known from a single locality near Sydney near the east coast of the continent in New South Wales (Map 4 ).

The male of Karaops marrayagong (Fig. 8E ) is similar to the males of K. raveni and K. jarrit by the body shape (flatter and wider than species in other Karaops species groups (Fig. 9B, D )), the horizontally oval sternum, and the long dRTA, curved ventrally and tapered to a point (Figs 8D, E , 9A, D , 10B ). It can be differentiated from K. raveni and K. jarrit by the median apophysis, which has spinules along the anterior margin and two distinct branches. It can also be differentiated by the dRTA, which is at least two times as long as the vRTA in K. raveni (Fig. 10B ; Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 30). In both K. raveni and K. jarrit , the vRTA is distally more knob-like due to an abrupt widening, and it is more uniform throughout its length in K. marrayagong (Fig. 9E, F ; Crews and Harvey 2011: figs 23, 29). The tegular lobe of K. jarrit is located medially and extends basally to cover part of the cymbium ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 23), whereas in K. marrayagong , it is located more retrolaterally, and it is vertically narrow, not covering much of the cymbium basally (Fig. 9E, F ). Additionally, it can be geographically differentiated from K. jarrit because they are located on opposite sides of the continent (Map 4 ).

Description.

Male (sel_1091, AM KS.126522). Total length 4.23. Carapace: length 2.41, width 3.50. Chelicerae: promargin with three teeth, retromargin with two teeth. Eyes: AER nearly straight, PER slightly recurved; diameters AME 0.14, ALE 0.08, PME 0.14, PLE 0.21; interdistances AME-PME 0.10, PME-ALE 0.28, ALE-PLE 0.22, ALE-ALE 1.26, AME-AME 0.51, PLE-PLE 1.60. Sternum: length 1.17, width 1.81. Abdomen: length 1.82, width 1.70. Color: Carapace: pale yellowish brown, with sparse, thin setae and longer, thick setae laterally, posteriorly. Chelicerae: brown laterally, lightened to yellowish brown medially, dusky marks, more setae anteriorly than laterally. Maxillae: pale yellowish brown. Labium dusky, pale distally. Sternum: pale yellowish brown, darker at margin. Abdomen: dorsally tan, dark laterally and around posterior, including spinnerets, with two large black marks on anterior half, some paler chevrons posteriorly, with several dark flecks; ventrally tan. Legs: pale yellowish brown, dusky, some paler spots on Fm; spination leg I missing; leg II Fm d 1-1-0, pr 1-1-0, Ti v Ti 1-1-1-1-1, weak, unpaired; leg III Fm d 1-1-0, pr 1-1-0; leg IV Fm d 1-1-1; measurements leg I missing; leg II 19.19 (6.14, 1.43, 5.43, 4.43, 1.76); leg III 14.9 (4.21, 1.43, 4.36, 3.43, 1.47); leg IV 11.86 (4.07, 0.71, 3.36, 2.5, 1.22). Palp: spination Fm d 0-1-3; 2.67 (0.83, 0.49, 0.53, 0.82); Pt dusky retrolaterally, Ti dusky basodorsally (Fig. 5D ); dRTA longer than vRTA, curved ventrally, pointed at end, vRTA of uniform width, hollowed out dorsally; rbcp absent; Cy round, setae gradually denser apically, without conspicuous brush or chemosensory area; C large, CS around E, horizontally and vertically broad, top half of bulb, with sclerotized apophysis directed retrolaterally, rounded at tip, with medial groove; E long, arising from vertically narrow TL at 6 o’clock, along prolateral margin of cymbium, ending ~ 1 o’clock; MA wide, with striae, Sp along anterior margin, with two branches, anterior small, broad, sclerotized, posterior longer, narrower, less sclerotized (Fig. 9E, F ).

Female (sel_1089, KS.126520). Habitus, live (Figs 9A , 10A ), preserved (Fig. 8D, E ); epigyne, caudal view (Fig. 9C ). For a detailed description of the holotype, see Crews and Harvey (2011).

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality and locality provided above, vicinity of Sydney, New South Wales, see Discussion (Map 4 ).

Natural history.

Karaops marrayagong is found in Sydney coastal dry sclerophyll forest, under bark of large and small eucalypts. An adult female, a subadult male, and two immatures of different instars were encountered in April. Simultaneously collecting adults and immatures of multiple instars is common in the family. The male (sel_1091) and an immature (sel_1090) died soon after collection (April). The female (sel_1089) and the other immature (sel_1088) died in November 2016. This species is found in a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion. The IBRA bioregion is the Sydney Basin, subregion Pittwater. Adults and penultimate females were collected in one of the hottest months, with rainfall transitioning from heavy to light. The Sydney Basin has a temperate climate with no dry season. K. marrayagong has been collected beneath bark.

Discussion.

There is ambiguity regarding the type locality of this species ( Crews and Harvey 2011). The holotype is quite old, with little information other than “Kitty’s Creek", an area that has been drastically developed in the last 100 years since the collection was made. The spider was encountered in a less-developed area thought to be near the type locality. It is difficult to determine if they are rare because they can be difficult to find, and typically no one is looking for them. Karaops marrayagong is morphologically similar to K. raveni and is found within the range of this species. Karaops raveni and K. marrayagong are sister taxa (Suppl. material 1).

Figures

Map 4. Species of the Karaops raveni species group; green = Karaops jarrit, red = Karaops raveni, pale blue = Karaops marrayagong.

Figure 5. Species from the Central Desert species group A Karaops kwartatuma sp. nov., holotype male, Ormiston Gorge, West MacDonnell Range National Park, Northern Territory (MAGNT A 004858) B same, holotype male, face showing black marks near eyes and " mustache " C Karaops larapinta sp. nov., holotype, epigyne, caudal, Finke River, Northern Territory (QMS 110852) D Karaops sp. from Watarrka National Park, Northern Territory. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 8. Members from the Karaops raveni species group A Karaops jarrit, paratype female, conveyor # 2, Worsley Alumina Overland Conveyor Belt, SW of Boddington, Western Australia (WAM T 87168) B Karaops raveni, holotype male, Brooyar State Forest, Queensland (QM S 50593) C Karaops raveni, female paratype, Boat Mountain, Queensland (QM S 47057) D Karaops marrayagong, holotype female, Kitty's Creek near Sydney, New South Wales (AM KS 19743) E Karaops marrayagong, female, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales (AM KS. 126520) F Karaops jarrit, holotype male, 11 km NW of Roe's Rock, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 55003) G Karaops monteithi, adult female, under rock, outside of Coen, Queensland; arrows indicate tufts of white setae H Karaops monteithi, habitat of outside of Coen, Queensland. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 9. Karaops marrayagong, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales A adult female (sel _ 1089, AM KS. 126520) B male, face (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) C epigyne, caudal (sel _ 1089 AM KS. 126520) D male (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) E same, palp, ventral; green = vRTA, orange = dRTA, light gray-blue = tegulum, blue-violet = tegular lobe, blue = embolus, turquoise = spermophor, pink = conductor / conductor sheath, yellow = median apophysis, dark green = subtegulum, Sp = spinules F same. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (C); 1 mm (B, D-F).

Figure 10. Karaops marrayagong and Karaops nitmiluk sp. nov. A Karaops marrayagong on tree, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, New South Wales (Photo: Wendy Grimm) B Karaops marrayagong, male palp, retrolateral, same data as previous (sel _ 1091, AM KS. 126522) C Karaops marrayagong, epigyne, caudal same data as previous (sel _ 1089, AM KS. 126520) D Karaops nitmiluk sp. nov., holotype, epigyne, Baruwei Walk, Nitmiluk National Park, Northern Territory (sel _ 1333, MAGNT A 004906); pink = median field, blue-violet = epigynal windows, yellow = lateral lobes / epigynal plate E same, endogyne, yellow = accessory bulbs, blue = spermathecae, red = fertilization ducts, green = posterodorsal fold F same, epigyne G same, endogyne. Scale bars: 1 mm (B); 0.2 mm (D-G).