Karaops jarrit 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 jarrit Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 8A, F , Map 4

Karaops jarrit Crews & Harvey, 2011: 36, figs 23-26 (♂, ♀, examined).

New records.

Western Australia • 1♂; Rivervale, 177 Knutsford Avenue; 31°57'50"S, 115°55'43"E; 10 Nov. 2010; V.W. Framenau leg.; sifted litter; in house; (WAM T108825) • 1♀; ~ 48 km NNE Koolyanobbing; 30°21'51.48"S, 119°37'59.36"E; 9-17 Oct. 2013; C. Knuckey leg.; dry pitfall trap; minor creekline; (WAM T128844) • 1♂; same as previous; (WAM T128845) • 1 imm.; Bungalbin Hill, 48.2 km NNE of Koolyanobbing; 30°21'38.10"S, 119°41'53.67"E; 3 Apr. 2013; S. White, A. Heidrich, A. Nowicki, J. Vos, F. Bokhari leg.; hand; leaf litter; (WAM T130654) • 1♂; ~ 38 km WSW of Quindanning, Worsley Alumina conveyor #2, night shift; 33°05'10"S, 116°08'56"E; 22 Dec. 2007; J. Hynes leg.; (WAM T111761) • 1 imm.; ~ 26 km NE of Harvey, N of Worsley Alumina Overland Conveyor #1; 33°00'24"S, 116°10'17"E; 25 Oct. 2009; J. Hynes leg.; night shift; (WAM T143564).

Diagnosis.

The female of Karaops jarrit 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 in the latter species ( 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. Additionally, K. marrayagong has 4 promarginal teeth and K. jarrit has 3. 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, close to the east coast of the continent in New South Wales (Map 4 ).

The male of Karaops jarrit (Fig. 8F ) is similar to the males of K. raveni and K. marrayagong 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. marrayagong by lacking spinules on the median apophysis and from K. raveni by the tegular lobe which is located more toward the center of the bulb, whereas it is located more retrolaterally in this species. Additionally, it can be geographically differentiated from K. jarrit because they are located on opposite sides of the continent (Map 4 ).

Description.

The description of the male and female can be found in Crews and Harvey (2011).

Distribution.

This species is found in southwestern Western Australia (Map 4 ).

Natural history.

The greatest number of specimens is known from the Northern Jarrah Forest subregion of the Jarrah Forest bioregion, with two localities near Perth, from the Perth subregion of the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion, a single locality in the Fitzgerald subregion of the Esperance Plains bioregion, and most recently from the Southern Cross subregion of the Coolgardie bioregion. The first three subregions have a warm to hot Mediterranean climate. Data indicate that adults are primarily found in the warmer to hotter times of the year with little rainfall. This species has been collected in a pitfall trap, in leaf litter, and on an overland conveyer at night.

Discussion.

Karaops jarrit (Fig. 8A, F ) is known from four disjunct localities in southwestern Australia, likely reflecting collecting efforts rather than actual distribution. Karaops jarrit overlaps in distribution with K. ellenae and K. francesae , none of which are in the same species group. The sister taxa of K. jarrit are K. raveni and K. marrayagong on the east coast from New South Wales to Queensland (Suppl. material 2: table S1).

Figures

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

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).