Austropholcomma florentine Rix &amp; Harvey 2010, sp. n.
Creators: name: Rix, Michael
name: Harvey, Mark
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Micropholcommatidae
Austropholcomma
Austropholcomma florentine

description: <i>Austropholcomma florentine</i> Rix &amp; Harvey, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4ED7929A-38F4-4C56-81E6-DB72855414AA Figs 7C, 12C, 22B, 22D, 23E–F, 30–32, 33A–B, 36–39 <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: Florentine Valley, 20 km NW. of Maydena, Tasmania, Australia, myrtle litter at base of log, 14.II.1977, J. Kethley (TMAG). Paratypes: Allotype female, same data as holotype (TMAG); 3 males and 16 females, same data as holotype (FMCSEM♁ &amp;female;). <b>Other material examined.</b> <b>AUSTRALIA: Tasmania:</b> Florentine Valley, 22 km NW. of Maydena, myrtle litter and root mat, 15.II.1977, J. Kethley, 2♁, 5&amp;female; (FMC); Frodsham’s Pass, 42°49'S, 146°23'E, 22.XI.1986, M. Harvey, P. Lillywhite, 2&amp;female; (WAM T94461); south-western Tasmania, 42°37'S, 145°56'E, 5.I.1978, L. Hill et al., 1♁ (AMS KS26992); 0–10 km W. of Strathgordon, N. of Mount Sprent, 290 m, Berlese moss and litter, wet rainforest, 27.IV.1987, N. Platnick, R. Raven, T. Churchill, 1♁ (AMNH). <b>Etymology.</b> The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, taken from the type locality. <b>Diagnosis.</b> Males and females of <i>Austropholcomma florentine</i> can be distinguished from <i>A. walpole</i> by the presence of eight eyes (Fig. 31B). <b>Description.</b> <i>Holotype male</i>: Total length 0.82. Carapace 0.38 long, 0.31 wide. Abdomen 0.47 long, 0.45 wide. Leg I femur 0.27. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites, legs tan-yellow; abdomen cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eight eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; AME 0.75x diameter of ALE; PME separated by nearly twice their own diameter. Chelicerae each with large, bulging an- terior projection; promargin with single peg tooth and modified, proximally-flattened peg tooth-like seta projecting from fused setal socket. Legs relatively short (leg I femurcarapace ratio 0.71); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval-globose, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute large, covering most of dorsal surface of abdomen; lateral sclerotic strips present. Pedipalpal patella with distally-directed, flanged lRPA and large, flange-like distal apophysis; tegulum smooth, without processes, with curved ETR; embolus long (length&gt; 5× width), bifurcate, with proximal portion looping once around margin of tegulum, distal portion coiled and intertwined (Fig. 32). <i>Allotype female</i>: Total length 0.89. Carapace 0.38 long, 0.29 wide. Abdomen 0.60 long, 0.49 wide. Leg I femur 0.26. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites, legs tan-yellow; abdomen cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eight eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; AME 0.5x diameter of ALE; PME separated by their own diameter. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.68); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval-globose, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute absent; lateral sclerotic strips present. Pedipalp small, four-segmented, with fused tibia-tarsus. Epigyne with distinctive external morphology (Fig. 30D); spermathecae globular, ‘tear-drop’ shaped; insemination ducts coiled around arched fertilisation ducts, insemination ducts with sclerotised proximal portion and expanded, membranous distal portion (Figs 33 A–B). <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from Tasmania. <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Austropholcomma florentine</i> is very similar to <i>A. walpole</i> from Western Australia. Nothing it known of its biology, except that specimens have been collected from moss and leaf litter, mainly in <i>Nothofagus</i> rainforest.
description: Published as part of <i>Rix, Michael &amp; Harvey, Mark, 2010, The spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneoidea): a relimitation and revision at the generic level, pp. 1-321 in ZooKeys 36 (36)</i> on pages 31-32, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.36.306, http://zenodo.org/record/576620