Australian Journal of
Taxonomy
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Type Material.Holotype male: QUEENSLAND: Mercury Parade, -27.2470692, 153.0364090, Mango Hill, 25th of October 2021, E. Yeoman. Paratype female: Same details as holotype.
Diagnosis. Males are most like A. reinga (Forster, 1970) (Forster, 1970; figs. 454-455) in the structure of the cymbium and RTA, which is directed dorsally with a slight prolateral bend. Males of A. eucalypti sp. nov. can be easily distinguished by the presence of corrugations on the surface of the RTA (absent in A. reinga). Females of A. eucalypti sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other described species by the structure of the epigyne: accessory structures absent; copulatory openings wide, situated medially; spermathecae thin, reniform; insemination ducts loosely ‘C’ shaped.
Description. Holotype male. Measurements. TL: 1.93. AL 0.87, AW 0.62; CL 0.73, CW 0.62; SL 0.42, SW 0.43; LL 0.09, LW 0.12; ML 0.19, MW 0.18; AMS 0.14 (0.16), ALS 0.24 (0.24), PLS 0.34 (0.40). Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.05, PME 0.05, ALE 0.05, PLE 0.05; AME-AME 0.02, AME-ALE 0.01, ALE-PLE 0.01, PME-PME 0.05, PME-PLE 0.03. AERW: 0.23; PERW: 0.28. Cephalothorax tan, pars cephalica raised, supporting eight eyes. Eyes all with dark borders, in dorsal aspect PER appears straight to slightly procurved, AER appears straight to slightly recurved. Abdomen dorsally brown with faint pale chevrons; ventrally pallid. Sternum broadly shield-shaped, concolorous with labium and maxillae; maxillae with keel of small denticles on anterior edge, with weak serrula on inner anterior corner. Chelicerae concolorous with cephalothorax, retromargin and promargin each with 2 teeth. Palp. Tegulum simple, circular. Embolus short, emerges prolaterally, terminates retrolaterally, supported by ovoid median apophysis. RTA short, in ventral aspect appears to curve around cymbium, dorsally directed, with several corrugations visible in retrolateral aspect, terminates bluntly. PA large, emerges immediately at tibia-patella joint, basally expansive, terminates sharply without teeth.
Paratype female. Measurements. TL: 2.92. AL 1.34, AW 1.02; CL 0.97, CW 0.74; SL 0.51, SW 0.53; LL 0.13, LW 0.15; ML 0.27, MW 0.23; AMS 0.17 (0.17), ALS 0.29 (0.31), PLS 0.55 (0.53). Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.04, PME 0.06, ALE 0.06, PLE 0.06; AME-AME 0.03, AME-ALE 0.02, ALE-PLE 0.01, PME-PME 0.06, PME-PLE 0.02. AERW: 0.26; PERW: 0.30. Cephalothorax yellowish, with row of setae extending from foveal region to eye group. Chelicerae bulbous, retromargin and promargin each with 2 teeth. Abdomen, sternum, labium, and maxillae as in male. Epigyne. Simple, copulatory openings wide, situated medially; insemination ducts join to slender spermathecae; accessory structure absent.
Etymology. Derived from the genus of tree Eucalyptus, which this species commonly inhabits the trunk of.
Distribution. Known only from the Brisbane Region in Southeast Queensland.
Natural History. This species is commonly found under the bark of eucalyptus trees in low-lying open forests, often living alongside Scotospilus ampullarius (Hickman, 1948).