Karaops monteithi 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 monteithi Crews & Harvey, 2011

Figs 7F , 8G, H , Map 3

Karaops monteithi Crews & Harvey, 2011: 30, figs 15, 16 (♀, examined).

New record.

Queensland • 1♀ (matured in captivity 22 May 2019), 5 imm.; 30 km S of Coen on PDR, left side of road heading south; -14.2931, 143.3269; 14 May 2019; S. Crews leg.; under rocks at top of hill in woodland with Cycas ; sel_1389-1394; SCC19_005; (QMS).

Diagnosis.

Karaops monteithi (Fig. 7F ) can be distinguished from other members of the Karaops strayamate species group by the lateral lobes forming a diamond-shaped median field, which they do not in the other species of the group ( Crews and Harvey 2011: fig. 15).

Description.

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

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

This species is known only from the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

Natural history.

Karaops monteithi has been collected beneath rocks in a forest with Cycas (Fig. 8H ). Both localities of Karaops monteithi (Fig. 8G, H ) occur in the Coen-Yambo Inlier subregion of the Cape York Peninsula bioregion ( Addicott et al. 2018). This subregion has a complex geology in the east with volcanics and metamorphic rocks. Primary vegetation is eucalypt woodland (Fig. 8H ).

Discussion.

The type specimen was collected in the hottest, drier part of the year, while the other female and immatures were collected in the drier part of the year, but during a transition month from hot to cooler (Suppl. material 2: table S1).

Figures

Map 3. Species of the Karaops strayamate species group; red = Karaops ellenae, green = Karaops monteithi, light blue = Karaops gangarie, yellow = Karaops strayamate.

Figure 7. Members from the Karaops strayamate species group A Karaops gangarie, holotype female, rainforest near Amos Bay, Queensland (QM S 52315) B Karaops gangarie, paratype female from Cooktown, Queensland (QM S 88003) C Karaops gangarie, paratype male, same data as holotype (QM S 88644) D Karaops ellenae, paratype female, Mount Cooke, Western Australia (WAM T 28043 ex. 93 / 1359) E Karaops ellenae, holotype male, same data as paratype (WAM T 28050 ex. T 93 / 1366) F Karaops monteithi, holotype female, Upper Lankelly Creek, Coen District, Queensland (QM S 61052). Scale bars: 1 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.