Tasmanicosa phyllis Hogg 1905, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Framenau, Volker W.
name: Baehr, Barbara C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Lycosidae
Tasmanicosa
Tasmanicosa phyllis

description: Tasmanicosa phyllis (Hogg, 1905) comb. nov.
Phyllis’ Union-Jack wolf spider
(Figs 3P, 4I, 6E, 7D, 19, 20A–K)
Lycosa phyllis Hogg 1905: 573 –575, figs 81A–D; Rainbow 1911: 271; McKay 1985: 81; Hirst 1988: 77. Varacosa phyllis (Hogg).— Roewer 1955: 305; McKay 1973: 381.
Lycosa stirlingae Hogg 1905: 584 –586, figs. 87, 87 A–C; McKay 1985: 83. New synonymy. Lycosa sterlingae Hogg. — Rainbow 1911: 273 (misspelled).
Orinocosa stirlingae (Hogg).— Roewer 1955: 281; McKay 1973: 380.
Type data. Lectotype (designated here) of Lycosa phyllis. Female, Riverton, Gilbert River [34°10'S, 138°45'E, South Australia, AUSTRALIA], A. Molyneux (SAM NN024) (examined).
Paralectotypes of Lycosa phyllis. Female, data as lectotype (SAM NN025); female, Goolwa [35°30'S, 138°47'E, South Australia, AUSTRALIA], A. Zeitz (SAM NN458) (examined). Syntypes of Lycosa stirlingae. Male and female, Riverton, Gilbert River [34°10'S, 138°45'E, South Australia, AUSTRALIA], A. Molyneux (not found in SAM; not examined).
Other material examined. 104 males, 38 females (1 with eggsac and three with spiderlings) in 102 records (Appendix B).
Diagnosis. The genital morphology of T. phyllis is most similar to T. harmsi, but both species differ in the ventral pattern in which T. harmsi has a band of white setae between pedicel and epigastric furrow, an area that is black in T. phyllis.
Male (based on NMV K11539).
Total length 18.5.
Prosoma. Length 10.3, width 7.5; carapace brown with genus-specific Union-Jack pattern and distinct light median and marginal bands (Fig. 20A); sternum black (Fig. 20C).
Eyes. Diameter of AME 0.30, ALE 0.28, PME 1.2, PLE 0.81.
Chelicerae. Black with an elongated patch of golden setae frontally.
Labium. Black (Fig. 20C).
Endites. Black (Fig. 20C).
Legs. Brown, covered with silvery setae; venter of coxae black (Fig. 20C).
Opisthosoma. Length 7.9, width 5.2; dorsally light brown with darker folium pattern (Fig. 20A); venter with triangular black central area (Fig. 20C).
Pedipalps. Cymbium dorsally with dense layer of silvery setae; tip with ca. 10 macrosetae (Figs 20E–F); ridge of tegular apophysis as wide as tegular apophysis; ventral process narrow and long (Figs 6E, 20J–K); embolus long and thin with apically kinked tip; terminal apophysis sickle-shaped (Fig. 20I).
Female (based on NMV K11540).
Total length 20.2.
Prosoma. Length 10.5, width 6.9; colouration of carapace and sternum as male (Figs 20B, D).
Eyes. Diameter of AME 0.32, ALE 0.31, PME 0.94, PLE 0.78.
Chelicerae, labium, endites, legs and opisthosoma. Opisthosoma length 11.6, width 8.1, otherwise as male (Figs 20B, D).
Epigyne. Approximately two times as long as wide; median septum inverted T-shaped with smooth lateral edges (Fig. 20G); spermathecal heads small situated at about one third of epigyne length from base; spermathecal stalks coiled (Fig. 20H).
Variation. Unlike in other Tasmanicosa, there seems to be a distinct size variation of T. phyllis specimens even in the same population, which was already noted by Hogg (1905: 575) in the original description of the species (“One female from Kangaroo Island (A. Zietz), paler and rather smaller.”). In one series of males and females from South Australia (WAM T53639), females ranged between 13 and 23 mm total length.
Remarks. Hogg (1905: 575) designated three female syntypes for T. phyllis, two from ‘ Gilbert River, Riverina’ and one from Kangaroo Island (South Australia). The locality Gilbert River, originally believed to be in Riverina district of New South Wales, was subsequently amended to “ Gilbert River, Riverton” located in South Australia (Hirst, 1988). The third syntype female, labelled as ‘co-type’ on the original label, has a locality label stating ‘Goolwa’, not Kangaroo Island, and we therefore consider Hogg’s original type locality as erroneous.
Goolwa is located approximately 70 km east of Kangaroo Island on mainland South Australia. We here designate one of the Gilbert River specimens as lectotype to unequivocally fix the species-group name of T. phyllis.
Hogg (1905) described Lycosa stirlingae in the same publication as T. phyllis and differentiated the species, amongst other minor details, by slight difference in the arrangement of the eyes. The type locality and collector of both species are the same (Gilbert River, Riverton, South Australia; A. Molyneux). Hogg (1905) also compared the species with T. ramosa and again differentiated it by minor differences of colouration and eye arrangement. We could not locate the syntype material of Lycosa stirlingae in the SAM, but after examining all material of this collection in detail, we could not find any other species with very elongated epigyne and reduced black patch on the venter as displayed by T. phyllis and T. ramosa as revised here. Lacking the ability to reassess the type material, we consider it more likely that L. stirlingae is a junior synonym of T. phyllis rather than of T. ramosa. Not only is the type locality the same, but the original illustration of the female epigyne of L. stirlingae by Hogg shows a smooth median septum in contrast to the irregular edges in T. ramosa. We therefore consider L. stirlingae a junior synonym of T. phyllis.
The female syntypes are in poor condition and therefore T. phyllis is here redescribed based on a more recently collected male and female from South Australia. The single female with eggsac in collections was found in May, the three females with spiderlings were recorded in March, May and June.
Life history and habitat preferences. Habitat descriptions with T. phyllis are few and include samphire flats, saltbush, open Muehlenbergia florulenta area in cracking clay, floodplain, and bluebush, suggesting similar habitat preferences for episodically flooded areas as T. leuckartii. Males of T. phyllis have been found from September to March. Females have been found throughout the year, peaking from October to February.
Distribution. Tasmanicosa phyllis has predominantly been found in eastern South Australia and western New South Wales into north-western Victoria, with a single isolated record from central Queensland (Fig. 19).
description: Published as part of Framenau, Volker W. & Baehr, Barbara C., 2016, Revision of the Australian Union-Jack wolf spiders, genus Tasmanicosa (Araneae, Lycosidae, Lycosinae), pp. 1-82 in Zootaxa 4213 (1) on pages 37-39, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4213.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/253033