Epeira albida Araneus albidus Epeira fastidiosa Araneus fastidiosus A new genus of Australian orb-weaving spider with extreme sexual size dimorphism (Araneae, Araneidae) Framenau, Volker W. Castanheira, Pedro de S. Zoosystematics and Evolution 2022 2022-05-05 98 1 137 149 438BEACD-6DFF-5AE1-8E80-771438FEB4D3 (L. Koch, 1871) Framenau & Castanheira 2022 L. Koch 1871 Araneidae Mangrovia treatment-meta Animalia Mangrovia albida Araneae 0 137 species albida comb. nov.   Figs 1A-D , 2A-D , 3A-E , 4A , 5   Epeira albidaL. Koch 1871: 83-84, plate 7, figs 2, 2a.  Araneus albidus(L. Koch).- Rainbow 1911.- 181.  Epeira fastidiosa Keyserling 1887: 183-184, plate 16, figs 1, 1a. New synonymy.  Araneus fastidiosus(Keyserling).- Rainbow 1916: 101, plate 21, figs 16, 17.  Type material.  Holotypeof  Epeira albidaL. Koch 1871: female, Rockhampton, ( 23°23'S, 150°30'E, Queensland, Australia) (NHMUK 1915.3.5.65), examined.  Holotypeof  Epeira fastidiosaKeyserling, 1887: male Rockingham, ( 23°23'S, 150°30'E, Queensland, Australia) (ZMH ( Rack 1961)-catalog 237), examined.  Other material examined.    Australia:  Queensland: 1 female, Brisbane, 27°28'S, 153°01'E(AM KS.32873);  1 male, Buhot Creek, Burbank, 27°35'S, 153°10'E(QM S67277);  1 female, Bundaberg Forest, 24°52'S, 152°21'E(QM);  1 female, Baldwins Swamp(QM S25331);  1 female, Cabbage Tree Creek, 25°27'S, 150°01'E(QM);  2 female, 4 juv., Cabbage Tree Point, 25°27'S, 150°01'E(QM);  1 female, Cabbage Tree Point, Beenleigh, 25°27'S, 150°01'E(QM);  1 female, 1 juv., Camira, 27°38'S, 152°55'E(QM);  1 male,  D'AguilarNational Park, Lepidozamia Road, 27°17'S, 152°45'E(AM KS.128413);  7 females, Glasshouse Mountains, 26°53'55.3"S, 152°56'56.0"E(QM);  1 female, Karawatha Forest, 27°37'S, 153°05'E, (QM S65833);  1 male, Koah Road, 16°49'S, 145°31'E(QM S83480);  1 female, Mareeba, 17°S, 145°26'E(AM KS.32640);  1 female, Molangdool, 24°45'S, 151°33'E(AM KS.98754);  1 female, Mt Chalmers, near Rockhampton, 23°20'S, 150°40'E(QM S15531);  1 male, Rockhampton, 23°23'S, 150°30'E(NHMUK 1890.7.1.4150); l female, same locality (NHMUK 1890.7.1.4171);  1 female, same locality (NHMUK 77.37);  1 immaturefemale, same locality (ZMH Rack (1961)-catalog 218).  Diagnosis. Males  M. albidacomb. nov. can be separated from  M. occidentalissp. nov. by subtle differences in key pedipalp sclerites, specifically the conductor is less elongate (Figs 2B, 7B), and the terminal apophysis is less bent apically (Figs 1C, 6C). In addition, the subterminal branch of the embolus appears larger in  M. albidacomb. nov. than in  M. occidentalissp. nov. (Figs 2B, 7A). Females of  M. albidacomb. nov. are distinguished from those of  M. occidentalissp. nov. by the shorter scape and its wider tip (scape longer and thinner with thinner tip in  M. occidentalissp. nov.) (Figs 3C, 8C).   Figure 1.  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov., male (QM S67277). A.Habitus, dorsal view; B.Habitus, ventral view; C.Left pedipalp, ventral view; D.Left pedipalp, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm ( A, B); 0.1 mm ( C, D).  Description.  Male(based on QM S67277): Total length: 2.8. Carapace (Fig. 1A) 1.4 long, 1.2 wide; dark brown, lighter in cephalic area. Eyes diameter AME 0.14, ALE 0.07, PME 0.10, PLE 0.07; row of eyes: AME 0.38, PME 0.29, PLE 0.65. Chelicerae small with paturon dark grey basally and beige apically; two promarginal teeth, the apical larger, three retromarginal teeth of similar size. Legs (Fig. 1A, B) yellow-brown with distinct dark brown annulations. Leg formula I> II> IV> III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 1.6 + 0.6 + 1.0 + 1.0 + 0.6 = 4.8, II - 1.3 + 0.5 + 0.9 + 0.9 + 0.5 = 4.1, III - 0.8 + 0.3 + 0.3 + 0.4 + 0.4 = 2.3, IV - 1.2 + 0.4 + 0.7 + 0.7 + 0.5 = 3.5. Labium and endites beige. Sternum 0.5 long, 0.4 wide, beige with dark brown contour (Fig. 1B). Abdomen (Fig. 1A, B) 1.6 long, 1.3 wide; rounded; dorsum with instinct dark folium pattern bordered by irregular, wavey light band; two small triangular white spots anteriorly sparsely covered with long brown setae; laterally beige with greyish bands; venter dark brown with two large, rounded white spots near spinnerets. Pedipalp (Figs 1C, D, 2A-D) length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + cymbium = total length): 0.3 + 0.1 + 0.2 + 0.5 = 1.1; cymbium broad, tegulum and subtegulum well-developed; conductor broad, basally slightly sclerotised, otherwise fleshy; median apophysis oval with an apical, slightly curved spine-like prong; radix elongate; terminal apophysis well-developed, with rounded distal portion; subterminal apophysis originating near the basis of terminal apophysis, thin and sclerotized; embolus basally inflated, otherwise thin, straight and with distinct subterminal branch.   Figure 2.  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov., expanded male left pedipalp (QM S67277). A.Apico-ventral view; B.Mesal view; C.Retrolateral view; D.Dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm ( A-D).  Female(based on AM KS.98754): Total length 8.6. Carapace (Fig. 3A) 3.9 long, 3.5 wide; pear-shaped, uniformly dark reddish-brown, weak cover of long and short white setae. Eyes diameter AME 0.27, ALE 0.18, PME 0.20, PLE 0.18; row of eyes: AME 0.70, PME 0.54, PLE 1.98. Chelicerae paturon reddish brown; four promarginal teeth, apical and third largest; three retromarginal teeth of similar size. Legs colouration similar to male (Fig. 3A, B). Pedipalp length (femur + patella + tibia + tarsus = total length): 1.2 + 0.5 + 0.8 + 1.3 = 3.8. Leg formula 1> IV> II> III; length of segments (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus = total length): I - 4.2 + 1.8 + 3.0 + 3.1 + 1.1 = 13.2, II - 3.8 + 1.7 + 2.7 + 0.9 + 1 = 10.1, III - 2.4 + 1.1 + 1.4 + 1.5 + 0.9 = 7.3, IV - 3.6 + 1.6 + 2.2 + 2.3 + 0.9 = 10.6. Labium and endites light brown. Sternum almost heart-shaped, yellowish-brown with dusky contour (Fig. 3B). Abdomen (Fig. 3A, B) 5.5 long, 4.7 wide; dorsum beige, with black band on anterior margin; four pairs of dark brown sigillae; venter as in male, but with thin white band behind epigastric furrow area. Epigyne (Fig. 3C, D, 4A) oval, around 1.5 times wider than long; copulatory openings lateral to scape; scape broad lip with terminal pocket; spermathecae sub-spherical, almost touching; fertilisation ducts basally convoluted and attaching posteriorly to spermathecae (Fig. 4A).   Figure 3.  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov., female (AM KS.98754). A.Habitus, dorsal view; B.Habitus, ventral view; C.Epigyne, ventral view; D.Epigyne, lateral view; E.Epigyne, posterior view. Scale bars: 2 mm ( A, B); 0.2 mm ( C-E).   Figure 4.  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov. (AM KS.98754) and  M. occidentalissp. nov. (WAM T75326), cleared female epigynes, posterior view. A.  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov.; B.  M. occidentalissp. nov. Scale bar: 0.2 mm ( A, B).  Variation. Total length males 2.7-3.0 (n = 3), females 8.3-9.7 (n = 5). There is very little colour variation in both males and females, although the folium pattern in males can be very distinct.  Remarks.  Rack (1961)listed the holotype of  Epeira albidaL. Koch, 1871 as her catalog number 218 in the collection of the ZMH; however, this cannot be the holotype as this specimen is an immature female and the original description and illustrations by L. Koch (1871)clearly show a mature female with fully developed epigyne. We here consider a female in the collection of the NHMUK London the holotype of  E. albida. This specimen has the typical label handwritten by L. Koch and matches well the description in L. Koch (1871).  Keyserling (1887)described  Epeira fastidiosaKeyserling, 1887 based on a mature male. The holotype of this species matches in all diagnostic characters the males that are here recognised as conspecific with the female  M. albidacomb. nov. We therefore consider  E. fastidiosaa junior synonym of  M. albidacomb. nov. Similarly to  M. albidacomb. nov., the designation of the holotype of  E. fastidiosaremains ambiguous. Rack (1961)considered a male in the ZMH ( Rack (1961)-catalog no. 237) as holotype of the species, but there is also a male in the NHMUK (1890.7.1.4150) from the type locality Rockingham that could be the holotype, as part of the Keyserling-collection was sold to the NHMUK (J. Beccaloni, pers. comm.). Both specimens are very similar and match  Keyserling's(1887)original description. We here follow  Rack's(1961)initial designation of the holotype of  E. fastidiosato maintain consistency with previous literature.  Habitat preferences and life history. Habitat descriptions found on labels with museum specimens include 'mangroves'and 'riparian', where spiders were found in rolled leaves near the orb-web. Mature spiders were found between December and April.  Distribution. This species is only known from coastal Queensland (Fig. 5).   Figure 5.Distribution records of  Mangrovia albidacomb. nov. 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -27.466667 Brisbane 1237 153.01666 1 1 Queensland S67277 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -27.583334 Burbank 1236 153.16667 Buhot Creek 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -24.866667 Bundaberg Forest 1249 152.35 1 1 Queensland S25331 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia Baldwins Swamp 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -25.45 Cabbage Tree Creek 1246 150.01666 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -25.45 Cabbage Tree Point 1246 150.01666 6 2 4 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -25.45 Beenleigh 1246 150.01666 Cabbage Tree Point 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -27.633333 Camira 1235 152.91667 2 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -27.283333 Lepidozamia Road 1237 152.75 D'Aguilar National Park 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -26.898695 Glasshouse Mountains 1 152.94888 7 7 Queensland S65833 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -27.616667 Karawatha Forest 1236 153.08333 1 1 Queensland S83480 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -16.816668 Koah Road 1280 145.51666 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -17.0 Mareeba 0 145.43333 1 1 Queensland 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -24.75 Molangdool 1249 151.55 1 1 Queensland S15531 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -23.333334 Rockhampton 1256 150.66667 Mt Chalmers 1 1 Queensland S15531 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -23.383333 Rockhampton 1256 150.5 Mt Chalmers 1 1 Queensland S15531 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -23.383333 Rockhampton 1256 150.5 Mt Chalmers 1 1 Queensland S15531 2022-01-01 2022-12-31 2022-01-01 Australia -23.383333 Rockhampton 1256 150.5 Mt Chalmers 1 1 Queensland