Four new Mouse Spider species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae, Missulena) from Western Australia

By

Miglio, Laura
Harms, Danilo
Framenau, Volker Wilhelm
Harvey, Mark S.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

410

Pages

121-148

Subjects

Biodiversity , Gondwanan fauna , systematics , taxonomy , trapdoor spiders

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.410.7156

 

Abstract

Four new species of the Mouse Spider genus Missulena Walckenaer, 1805 (family Actinopodidae) are described from Western Australia based on morphological features of adult males. Missulena leniae sp. n. (from the Carnarvon and Yalgoo biogeographic regions), Missulena mainae sp. n. (Carnarvon), Missulena melissae sp. n. (Pilbara) and Missulena pinguipes sp. n. (Mallee) represent a broad spectrum of morphological diversity found in this genus and differ from other congeners by details of the male copulatory bulb, colour patterns, eye sizes, leg morphology and leg spination. Two of the species, M. pinguipes sp. n. and M. mainae sp. n., are characterised by swollen metatarsi of the fourth legs in males, a feature not previously recorded in the family. A key to males of all named Missulena species from Australia is presented and allows their identification based on external morphology.