Karaops 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

Genus Karaops Crews & Harvey, 2011

Type species.

Karaops ellenae Crews & Harvey, 2011.

Diagnosis.

Karaops do not have scopulae or teeth on the tarsal claws. In almost all species (except K. yumbu Crews, 2013), the embolus arises from a tegular lobe.

Nomen dubium, here designated.

Selenops australiensis L. Koch 1875: 615, pl. 48, fig. 6; L. Koch 1876: 832, pl. 71, fig. 3.

Discussion.

In Crews and Harvey (2011) it was reported that the holotype of Karaops australiensis was a juvenile. The types in ZSMH were not examined at that time. A re-examination of L. Koch (1875) lists the figure from page 615, pl. 48, fig. 6 as “Femina”, although the illustration appears to be an immature male. The material at the ZSMH was photographed, and ZSMH-A0000791 is the holotype juvenile male from Bowen. The other specimen, ZSMH-A0000792, is the female, presumably, from L. Koch (1876), denoted as the syntype. The locality data for the female denoted as the syntype says Sydney. After closer examination of the holotype male, it is believed that this is actually an immature of K. raveni Crews & Harvey, 2011 or a member of the Karaops raveni species group based on the leg spination and the curvature of the eye rows; thus, it could also have been found in Sydney as K. raveni and K. marrayagong Crews & Harvey, 2011 of the Karaops raveni group both occur there. Adult specimens previously determined as Selenops australiensis , and that are here described as members of the new species Karaops strayamate sp. nov., occur far from New South Wales. Because of the uncertainty and inability to determine to which specimen Koch was referring to, K. australiensis is considered a nomen dubium.

Distribution.

Australia excluding Tasmania.

Composition.

With the new species described here, there are now a total of 54 Karaops species. Several others for which adults have not been collected are known via molecular and locality data.