Micropholcomma junee 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
Micropholcomma
Micropholcomma junee

description: <i>Micropholcomma junee</i> Rix &amp; Harvey, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9A689FA4-72D0-4553-AF71-B56F303154A3 Figs 15D, 16–17, 213 <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: <i>Splash Pot</i> (JF-10), Junee-Florentine karst, Tasmania, Australia, on moist wall of stream (twilight and dark zones) to c. 40 m depth, 42°43'S, 146°34'E, 28.VIII.1987, S. Eberhard (AMS KS97172). Paratypes: Allotype female, <i>Cauldron Pot</i> (JF-2), Junee-Florentine karst, Tasmania, Australia, in deep part (dark zone) of cave, 2.IV.1990, S. Eberhard (QVM 13: 13292); 1 male, same data as holotype (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>Micropholcomma junee</i> can be distinguished from all other described congeners by the presence of only four vestigial eye spots (Figs 16A–B). <b>Description.</b> <i>Holotype male</i>: Total length 0.90. Carapace 0.39 long, 0.32 wide. Abdomen 0.59 long, 0.43 wide. Leg I femur 0.34. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites dark tan-brown; legs, abdomen dark tan-yellow. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes reduced to four vestigial eye spots on anterior margin of pars cephalica. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin with single peg tooth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.87); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval, protruding posteriorly, 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; tegulum smooth, without processes, with curved ETR; embolus long (length&gt; 5× width), looping once around margin of tegulum (Fig. 17). <i>Allotype female</i>: Total length 0.84. Carapace 0.36 long, 0.30 wide. Abdomen 0.56 long, 0.37 wide. Leg I femur 0.37. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites tan-yellow; legs, abdomen pale cream. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view. Eyes reduced to four vestigial eye spots on anterior margin of pars cephalica. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 1.03); macrosetae absent. Abdomen oval, protruding posteriorly, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute and lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalp small, four-segmented, with fused tibia-tarsus. Epigyne with distinctive external morphology (Fig. 16D); spermathecae globular; insemination ducts coiled around arched fertilisation ducts (Fig. 15D). <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from the caves <i>Splash Pot</i> and <i>Cauldron Pot</i> in the Junee-Florentine karst of south-central Tasmania (Fig. 213). <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Micropholcomma junee</i> lives in sympatry with another troglobitic micropholcommatid, <i>Olgania eberhardi</i> sp. n. (see below). Nothing is known of its biology.
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 25-26, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.36.306, http://zenodo.org/record/576620