Maratus pinniger Ju &amp; Otto &amp; Hill 2022, new species
Creators: name: , Ju
name: Otto, C.
name: Hill, David E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Salticidae
Maratus
Maratus pinniger

description: <i>Maratus pinniger</i>, new species <i>Type specimens</i>. The holotype male (&amp;male; #1), six paratype males (&amp;male; #2-7), and one paratype female (&amp;female; #1) were collected in coastal sword-sedge (<i>Lepidosperma gladiatum</i>) in a damp swale area surrounded by Jarrah / Marri forest, in Blackwood State Forest, Western Australia (Figure 2; S33.945174°, E 115.302561°, 16 OCT-10 NOV 2021, coll. Paul Winthrop). All types will be deposited in the Western Australian Museum, Perth. <i>Etymology</i>. The species group name, <i>pinniger</i> (Latin, adjective, m.), means <i>pinnate</i> or <i>feather-bearing</i>, an apt description for the fan flaps displayed by the male of this species, bearing specialized setae that resemble long "feathers." <i>Pinnager</i> (or <i>pennager</i>) is also a medieval English occupational surname for a pennant or ensign-bearer. <i>Diagnosis</i>. Females resemble other females in the <i>vespa</i> group, and related groups in southwestern Australia, and examination of the male is necessary for identification. The male pedipalp also resembles that of other members of the <i>vespa</i> group and related groups. The male is closest to <i>M. fletcheri</i> in appearance (Figure 1), but can be reliably separated from that species by the presence of larger areas of iridescent scales at the rear of the fan, and the presence of multiple, long, feather-like setae (<i>pinnae</i>) extending beyond the margin of each lateral flap of the fan. The colour of scales that cover much of the body and legs (brown in <i>M. fletcheri</i>, white in <i>M. pinniger</i>) may not be a reliable indicator, as the related <i>M. cristatus</i> (Figure 1:2-3) has both colour forms. <i>Description of male</i> (Figures 3-9). Males (n=7) ranged from 3.3-3.8 mm in length. The chelicerae are black, glabrous. The clypeus is covered with many long white-grey setae, directed toward the front above the chelicerae. The carapace is black, mostly glabrous, with a cover of grey scales in the eye region, where three interrupted bands of brown or dark red-brown scales can be seen, one at the median and one on either side of this. Another irregular or interrupted band of brown or dark red-brown scales runs on either side of the carapace, through the lateral eyes. Small spots comprised of white-grey scales are present just behind each PLE, and in a median thoracic position. The margin of the carapace is lined with white-grey scales or setae. Each PME is distinctly closer to the ipsilateral PLE than to the ipsilateral ALE. Long, stout or erect black and white setae project from the anterodorsal opisthosoma. The fan bears a distinctive pattern (Figures 4, 6) comprised of iridescent blue-green and pigmented red to brown scales, with long feather-like setae (<i>pinnae</i>), some&gt; 0.5 mm in length, extending beyond the curved posterior margin of each flap. The anterior margin of each flap also has a fringe of white-grey setae. Behind the fan, the posterodorsal opisthosoma is black, with a median group of mostly white, scattered scales and, behind this, the anal tuft of white setae (Figure 4) that is typically found in <i>Maratus</i> species. The spinnerets are black. Below (Figure 9), the opisthosoma is brown, with a covering of white setae, and the coxae, sternum, endites, chelicerae and pedipalps are mostly dark-grey or black. The legs are generally black to brown in colour, legs I and II of about the same length and shortest, legs III longest. Legs I-II and IV are distinctly to indistinctly banded with white scales or setae. Legs III are heavily fringed with long white setae, dorsally on the femur, and mostly ventrally from the patella to metatarsus. Tarsus III is covered with bright white setae. Femora I and II are thicker, each with several black spots on glabrous, light brown cuticle when viewed from below. The pedipalp, with a single tooth below the apex of the outer ring of the embolus (Figure 8), is typical for the <i>vespa</i> group, as well as the related <i>flavus</i>, <i>linnaei</i>, and <i>mungaich</i> groups of southwestern Australia (Otto &amp; Hill 2021), and appears to be of no use for identification to species. <i>Description of female</i> (Figures 10-11). Body length (n=1) 5.4 mm. In general the cuticle of the female is light-brown to brown and translucent, with darker brown banding on the legs, and dark brown on the dorsal carapace and opisthosoma. The paturon of each chelicera is mostly glabrous, with a sparse covering of white setae. The pedipalps are light-brown with a cover of projecting white setae. From the face, below the anterior eyes, and the clypeus a number of long white setae extend to the front. These are not as dense as they are in the male. Both the carapace and opisthosoma have scattered white and redbrown scales on a dark brown background dorsally, with bands of mostly white scales on either side. Except for a line of white setae in front, above the chelicerae, the margins of the carapace are almost entirely glabrous, without the marginal band seen in the male. The white bands on the lateral margins of the dorsal opisthosoma do not meet at the rear. A small triangular anal tuft of white scales is present, above the brown spinnerets. The venter of the opisthosoma is light-brown, with many small brown spots, with a fairly uniform cover of white setae. Coxae, sternum, endites, chelicerae and pedipalps are mostly light brown and glabrous from below. Legs I and II shorter and of similar length, legs III and IV also of similar length but longer. From above all legs are distinctly to indistinctly banded with alternating white setae and exposed dark cuticle. The epigynum (Figure 11:6) is typical for the group, with a smaller fossa in front of each large posterior spermatheca, and more sclerotized ducts visible through the posterior half of each fossa. <i>Courtship display</i> (Figures 12-20). All observations of courtship took place under simulated natural conditions in the laboratory. Like other <i>Maratus</i>, male <i>M. pinniger</i> may raise one or both legs III to gain the attention of a nearby female (Figures 3:13, 12). Display may include slow, intermittent movement of legs III with occasional flexing at the tibiometatarsal joint. Advertising males could also extend legs III in a V-shaped configuration, and wave the elevated fan in a median position (Figures 13, 20:1-2). As is the case for other members of the <i>vespa</i> group, a close approach of the female to examine the male led to rotation of the fan from one side to the other behind legs III, held in more of a "calipers" position (Figures 14-20). During this display, the pedipalps, separated to reveal the glabrous black chelicerae, and legs III of the male were held in a stationary position. As with the previous (advertisement) display, movement of the fan was fairly continuous when observed with 120 fps video, involving left-right cycles of side to side movement at 5-9Hz, accompanied by "bobbing" or vibration of the opisthosoma at ~50Hz. Slower (2-3Hz) extension-retraction cycles of each lateral flap, as it was was turned toward the female at one side or the other, were also observed. <b>Figure 16 (continued on next page).</b> Serial frames from a 120fps video of courtship display by a male <i>Maratus pinniger</i>. <b>1-4,</b> 1.5 cycles of left-right fan rotation at 5.6Hz. <b>5-10,</b> 2.5 cycles of flap retraction at 2Hz. <b>12-43,</b> 16 left-right cycles of fan rotation as the fan was raised to an elevated position, at 6.9Hz. <i>Habitat</i>. <i>Maratus pinniger</i> was found on coastal sword-sedge (<i>Lepidosperma gladiatum</i>) in a damp swale area surrounded by Jarrah/Marri forest, in Blackwood State Forest, Western Australia (Figure 21).
description: Published as part of <i>Ju, Otto, C. &amp; Hill, David E., 2022, Maratus pinniger, a new peacock spider in the vespa group from southwestern Australia (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini), pp. 1-30 in Peckhamia 262 (1)</i> on pages 4-27, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6467908
description: {"references": ["Otto, J. C. and D. E. Hill. 2021. Catalogue of the Australian peacock spiders (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini: Maratus), version 4. Peckhamia 148.4: 1 - 35."]}