Maratus Karsch, 1878

Baehr, Barbara C. & Whyte, Robert, 2016, The Peacock Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae: Maratus) of the Queensland Museum, including six new species, Zootaxa 4154 (5), pp. 501-525 : 502

Genus Maratus Karsch, 1878

Maratus Karsch, 1878: 27 . Type species designated by monotypy: Maratus amabilis Karsch, 1878 , in Bonnet, 1957: 2713.

The endemic Australian Jumping spider genus Maratus belongs to the Saitis clade together with the salticid genera Saitis , Jotus , Prostheclina , Hypoblemum , ‘Lycidas’, Maileus , Barraina and possibly Margaromma ( Zhang & Maddison, 2015) . Zhang and Maddison (2015) suggested merging the genera of this clade into Saitis . To explore this notion further it may be worthwhile to take a closer look into the ultrastructure of the embolic disc and the embolus which appear to have a lot of hidden characters not visible with a normal microscope ( Figs 1 , 7 , 11 , 15 ); however this paper does not aim to explore the monophyly of these genera, rather it is to describe a number of new species of the endemic Australian Peacock spider genus Maratus found in the Queensland Museum Collection, obtained on Bush Blitz expeditions and elsewhere.

Diagnosis. Members of the genus Maratus share with other genera of the Saitis clade a relatively large male palpal bulb with a retrolateral sperm duct loop (RSDL), a large retrobasal tegular lobe (TL), a finger-like retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA), an anticlockwise coiled embolus (E) and a lamella on the tegular shoulder (LTS) of the male palp ( Zhang & Maddison, 2015).

Maratus can be separated from other Saitis clade genera by males having an opisthosomal plate (often with lateral wings, flaps or a wide lateral fringe) covered with a dense layer of colourful iridescent setae ( Otto & Hill, 2012a), elevated to display to the female during courtship. Lateral ornamentation in the species here can be a minimal edge ( Figs 8 E) as in M. anomalus , M. julianneae ; a larger flap which nearly always remains folded around the opisthosoma ( Fig. 12 B) as in M. eliasi ; or a big flap running along the whole side of the opisthosoma ( Fig. 16 E), as in M. pavonis var. nornalup , M. volans and M. speciosus . Some Maratus species have inflatable spinnerets which are used in the courtship dance [described in detail in Otto & Hill, 2012b] and shown here in ( Figs 12 A, 13A) in the cases of M. eliasi and M. ottoi .

Figures

FIGURE 1 (A ‒ I). Maratus species groups males: A, D, G, M. kiwirrkurra Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (WAM-T 138587); B, E, H, M. chrysomelas (QM-S 96329); C, F, I, Maratus licunxini Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96330); A ‒ C, palpal tip with embolic disc; D ‒ F, embolic disc frontal view; G, I, embolic disc retrolateral view; H, embolus tip.

FIGURE 7 (A ‒ I). Maratus anomalus group males: A, D, G, M. anomalus (Karsch, 1878) (QM-S 56273); B, E, H, M. julianneae Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96325); C, F, I, Maratus michaelorum Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM- S 80074); A ‒ C, palpal tip with embolic disc; D ‒ F, embolic disc frontal view; G ‒ I, palpal tip retrolateral view, with retrolateral groove at embolic tip and semicircular lateral process of embolic disc.

FIGURE 8 (A ‒ N). Maratus julianneae Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. male holotype (QM-S 96325). A, D, E, live images (photos: Robert Whyte); A, B, habitus, dorsal view; C, habitus, ventral view; D, prosoma, anterior view; E, habitus, lateral view; F, opisthosoma frontal view; G, right III leg, prolateral view; H, I, male palp, prolateral view; J, same, ventral view; K, same, retrolateral view; L, embolic disc, prolateral view; M, same, ventral view; N, same, retolateral view.

FIGURE 11 (A ‒ I). Maratus digitatus group males: A, D, G, M. eliasi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96335); B, E, H, M. ottoi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. holotype (QM-S 96332); C, F, I, Maratus digitatus Otto & Hill, 2012 (QM-S 47268); A ‒ C, palpal tip with embolic disc; D ‒ F, embolic disc frontal view; G ‒ I, palpal tip retrolateral view, embolic disc with flat retrolateral groove and finger shaped lateral process of embolic disc with pancake-stack shaped retrolateral ridges.

FIGURE 12 (A ‒ I). Maratus eliasi Baehr & Whyte, sp. nov. male holotype (QM-S 96335). A, live photo (photo: Michael Duncan); B, habitus, dorsal view (QM-S 73641); C ‒ I, (QM-S 96335), C, habitus, ventral view; D, prosoma, anterior view; E, habitus, lateral view; F, right III leg, prolateral view; G, male palp, prolateral view; H, same, ventral view; I, same, retrolateral view.

FIGURE 15 (A ‒ I). Maratus males: A, D, G, M. volans (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (QM-S 54112); B, E, H, M. speciosus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (QM-S 26034); C, F, I, Maratus pavonis var. nornalup (WAM-T 136127); A ‒ C, palpal tip with embolic disc; D ‒ F, embolic disc frontal view; G ‒ I, palpal tip retrolateral view, with flat retrolateral groove and differently shaped lateral process of embolic disc.

FIGURE 16 (A ‒ I). Maratus pavonis var. nornalup male (WAM-T 136127). A, habitus, dorsal view; B, habitus, ventral view; C, opisthosoma, ventral view; D, prosoma, anterior view; E, habitus, lateral view; F, right III leg, prolateral view; G, male palp, prolateral view; H, same, ventral view; I, same, retrolateral view.