Karaops toolbrunup 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 toolbrunup Crews & Harvey, 2011

Fig. 16E, F , Maps 1 , 6

Karaops toolbrunup Crews & Harvey, 2011: 74, figs 69-72, 95 (♂, ♀, examined).

New record.

Western Australia • 1 imm.; Stirling Range National Park, Bluff Knoll, track to summit; -34.37583, 118.2544; 15 Apr. 2015; M.S. Harvey, M.G. Rix, N.J. Tatarnik, A. Coles leg.; under rock montane heathland; (WAM T135856).

Diagnosis.

See diagnosis for Karaops francesae above.

Description.

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

Distribution.

This species is known only from the Stirling Ranges National Park (Maps 1 , 6 ).

Natural history.

The Stirling Ranges are within the Fitzgerald subregion of the Esperance bioregion. There is more relief in this part of the subregion, with Bluff Knoll the highest peak in the south of Western Australia. It also has a slightly wetter and cooler climate, with rare ecosystems, like the Stirling Range Montane Thicket and Heath of the SW Botanical Province. This species has been collected under rocks.

Discussion.

Karaops toolbrunup (Fig. 16E, F ) is found within the range of the similar, closely related and more widespread K. francesae . The mountaintops and gulleys of the Stirling Ranges are thought to be refugia for some organisms ( Comer et al. 2001; Rix, Roberts and Harvey 2009) (Suppl. material 2: table S1).

Figures

Map 1. Map of Australia showing areas that are expanded in subsequent figures. CD = Central Desert group, D = Karaops dawara group, F = Karaops francesae group, K = Kimberley group, UA = species that are not assigned to a group, PG = Pilbara-Gascoyne group.

Map 6. Species of the Karaops francesae species group; yellow = Karaops francesae, teal = Karaops toolbrunup.

Figure 16. Karaops yumbu and members of the Karaops francesae species group A Karaops yumbu, habitat, Sawpit Gorge, Western Australia B habitat of Karaops francesae, Mt. Lindesay, Western Australia C Karaops francesae, female paratype, east Mount Barren, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 54994) D Karaops francesae, male holotype, northeast of slope of West Mount Barren, Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 54996) E Karaops toolbrunup, female holotype, Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 76592) F Karaops toolbrunup, male paratype, Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges National Park, Western Australia (WAM T 62231). Scale bars: 1 mm.