Knoelle Framenau, 2006, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Framenau, Volker W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Lycosidae
Knoelle

description: Knoelle gen. nov.
Type species: Lycosa clara L. Koch, 1877. Here designated.
Etymology. The generic name honours my mother, the late Hildegard Framenau. ‘Knölle’ was a nickname she used frequently, and may refer to the German word Knolle (= spud). The gender is feminine.
Diagnosis. Knoelle gen. nov. is similar to representatives of the genus Ve na t or Hogg, 1900 in respect to somatic characters, in particular its body colouration with a ventral black patch on the opisthosoma. However, it differs considerably by the presence of a large patch of macrosetae at the tip of the cymbium in males which is absent in Venator. Males in the genus Hoggicosa also have a patch of macrosetae at the tip of the cymbium, however it is much smaller. In addition, the tegular apophysis is very different in Hoggicosa as it is of a simple, triangular type lacking the two hooks and the lamellar structure characteristic for Knoelle gen. nov. Hoggicosa also have a very different body colouration with a distinct sexual dimorphism that is absent in Knoelle gen. nov. (McKay 1973, 1975).
Description. Medium sized Lycosidae (TL ca. 10.0 – 25.0 mm). Males smaller than females. Prosoma longer than wide (Fig. 1), dorsal profile straight in lateral view (Fig. 4). Head flanks comparatively steep in males (Fig. 5). Dorsal shield of prosoma brown to dark brown, with distinct light brown median and submarginal bands; submarginal and brown marginal bands irregular; white setae in median and submarginal bands. Anterior median eyes ca. twice as large as anterior lateral eyes, row of anterior eyes narrower than row of posterior median eyes; row of anterior eyes slightly procurved (Fig. 5). Chelicerae with three promarginal and three retromarginal teeth. Labium shorter than or as long as wide. Opisthosoma mottled olive­grey, centrally lighter and with dark, irregular heart mark (Fig. 1). Venter with a large black patch covering about three quarters of venter from epigastric furrow. Leg formula VI>I>II>III. Spination of legs: Femur: 3 dorsal, 2 apicoprolateral, 2 retrolateral; patella: 1 prolateral (male only), 1 retrolateral; tibia: 2 dorsal (male only), 3 ventral pairs, 2 prolateral (male only), 2 retrolateral; metatarsus: 3 ventral pairs, 2 prolateral (male only), 2 retrolateral (male only), 1 apicoprolateral (male only), 1 apicoretrolateral (male only), 1 apicoventral.
Cymbium tip with large patch of macrosetae (Figs 2, 6–7). Tegulum undivided, large retrolateral tegular lobe; tegular apophysis with two distinct, basally directed hooks. Embolus originating prolaterally on palea and curving ventrally around it, long and slender. Terminal apophysis and pars pendula sickle­shaped (Fig. 8). Epigyne with inverted T­shaped median septum, that widens anteriorly (Figs 3, 9).
Distribution. As for species (Fig. 11).
Remarks. Knoelle clara comb. nov. is a typical representative of the subfamily Lycosinae as the tegular apophysis is ‘transverse, with a ventrally directed spur’ and it has a ‘sinuous channel on the dorsal surface’ (Dondale 1986). A recent molecular phylogeny inferred from 12S rRNA and NADH1 that included seventy world­wide Lycosidae species placed K. clara comb. nov. as sister taxon to Allocosa hasseltii (parsimony analysis) or in a polytomy with most other Australian Lycosinae (Bayesian analysis) (Murphy et al. 2006). Morphological evidence places Knoelle gen. nov. close to Ve n at o r or Hoggicosa (see generic diagnosis), but a detailed phylogenetic analysis of the Australian Lycosinae is required to ascertain the systematic position of the new genus.
description: Published as part of Framenau, Volker W., 2006, Knoelle, a new monotypic wolf spider genus from Australia (Araneae: Lycosidae), pp. 55-67 in Zootaxa 1281 on pages 57-58, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.173409