Taphiassa castanea 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
Taphiassa
Taphiassa castanea

description: <i>Taphiassa castanea</i> Rix &amp; Harvey, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 032497 CC-BBF5-49F1-A91F-CD2F88D8F4D1 Figs 152C, 163–164, 169C, 170–175 <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: Cuckoo Falls, near Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia, beating ferns, 41°14'13"S, 147°36'49"E, 26.IV.2006, M. Rix (TMAG). Paratypes: Allotype female, same data as holotype (TMAG); 5 males, same data as holotype (WAM T94478); 1 male, same data as holotype (WAM T80024 DNA-MPE). <b>Other material examined.</b> <b>AUSTRALIA: Tasmania:</b> Liffey Falls, 14.V.1953, V. Hickman, 1♁, 1&amp;female; (AMS KS49192); track off Mount Barrow Road, 780 m, pyrethrum fogging tree ferns, 15–17.II.1980, A. Newton, M. Thayer, 1&amp;female; (AMNH); Mount Wellington, Cascades, 10.IV.1961, V. Hickman, 1♁ (AMS KS30732); Mount Wellington, ‘ Fern Tree’, beating low-growing ferns, 42°55'19"S, 147°15'36"E, 28.IV.2006, M. Rix, 5♁, 1&amp;female; (WAM T94475 SEM♁ &amp;female;); Mt Wellington, Lenah Valley track from ‘ The Springs’ carpark, sifting moss and leaf litter, 27.IV.2007, M. Rix, 1&amp;female; (WAM T94474); 60 km S. of Smithton on Sumac Road, mixed litter, 3.III.1977, J. Kethley, 1&amp;female; (FMC); south-western Tasmania, 42°37'S, 145°45'E, 9.II.1976, C. Howard et al., 1&amp;female; (AMS KS26237). <b>Etymology.</b> The specific epithet is derived from the Latin ‘castaneus’, meaning ‘of the colour of chestnuts, brown’ (Brown 1956), and refers to the brown carapace colouration of this species. <b>Diagnosis.</b> Males of <i>Taphiassa castanea</i> can be distinguished from all other described congeners by the small body size (carapace length &lt;0.60), and by the oval profile of the tegulum in ventral view (Fig. 164A). Females can be distinguished from all other described congeners by the small body size (carapace length &lt;0.60) and by the distinctive shape of the receptacula (Fig. 169C). Both sexes can also be recognised by the Tasmanian distribution. <b>Description.</b> <i>Holotype male</i>: Total length 1.13. Carapace 0.55 long, 0.43 wide. Abdomen 0.64 long, 0.61 wide. Leg I femur 0.58. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites dark brown; legs dark tan-yellow; abdomen dark olive, with slightly darker markings mesally and laterally. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites, with circular sclerotic rim around petiole; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view; carapace and sternum heavily punctate. Eight subequal eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; PME separated by slightly less than half their own diameter. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 1.05); macrosetae absent. Abdomen globose, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute and lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalpal patella with retrolaterally-directed, hooked lRPA and strongly recurved distal apophysis; bulb oval in profile, with posteriorly-bulging subtegulum; tegulum smooth, oval in profile, with curved ETR; embolus long (length&gt; 5× width), curving distally (Fig. 164). <i>Allotype female</i>: Total length 1.25. Carapace 0.53 long, 0.46 wide. Abdomen 0.72 long, 0.65 wide. Leg I femur 0.58. Cephalothorax, abdominal sclerites dark brown; legs dark tan-yellow; abdomen dark grey. Carapace raised anteriorly, fused to sternum via pleural sclerites, with circular sclerotic rim around petiole; dorsal surface of pars cephalica slightly convex in lateral view; carapace and sternum heavily punctate. Eight subequal eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica; PME separated by slightly less than half their own diameter. Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections; promargin without peg teeth. Legs relatively short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 1.09); macrosetae absent; superior claws on legs I–II strongly pectinate. Abdomen globose, slightly shrunken, covered with hair-like setae, each seta projecting from small sclerotic spot; dorsal scute and lateral sclerotic strips absent. Pedipalp very small, reduced to a vestigial nubbin. External epigyne indistinct (Fig. 163D); spermathecae globular, oval in profile; insemination ducts short; fertilisation ducts simple, curved (Fig. 169C). <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from Tasmania. <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Taphiassa castanea</i> is a common species in Tasmania, where it can be found living under low ferns in temperate rainforest habitats, sometimes in direct sympatry with another species of <i>Taphiassa</i> very similar to <i>T. robertsi</i>. It is most similar to <i>T. globosa</i> and several other undescribed species from mainland Australia. This species was included in the molecular phylogenetic analysis of Rix et al. (2008) as “ <i>Parapua</i> sp. TAS”.
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 85-86, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.36.306, http://zenodo.org/record/576620
description: {"references": ["Brown RW (1956) Composition of Scientific Words: A Manual of Methods and a Lexicon of Materials for the Practice of Logotechnics. Smithsonian Books, Washington, DC, 882 pp.", "Rix MG, Harvey MS, Roberts JD (2008) Molecular phylogenetics of the spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae) using nuclear rRNA genes (18 S and 28 S). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46: 1031 - 1048."]}