Eucyrtops ksenijae Rix & Harvey, sp. nov.

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http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/10E2580B-D21A-4B65-AA11-B0EC8E2607BC

Type material

Holotype

AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: male, junction of Arthur River and Albany Highway, 33°16'22"S, 117°00'54"E, 6–11 July 2003, pitfall trap, M.S. Harvey, F. Harvey, E. Harvey (WAM T56767).

Paratypes

AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 2 males, collected with holotype (WAM T56768, T56769).

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Figures 2–11. Eucyrtops ksenijae Rix & Harvey, sp. nov., holotype male (WAM T56767), somatic morphology: 2, 3, cephalothorax and abdomen, dorsal view; 4, cephalothorax, lateral view; 5, eyes, dorsal view; 6, mouthparts, ventral view; 7, 8, sternum and abdomen, ventral view; 9, leg I, prolateral view; 10, leg I tibia, clasping spurs, prolateral view; 11, leg I tibia, proventral view. Scale bars = 2 mm.

Diagnosis

Males of Eucyrtops ksenijae sp. nov. can be distinguished from those of E. eremaeus by the presence of a trapezoidal eye group (Fig. 5) (subquadrate in E. eremaeus; see Rix et al. 2017c, fig. 212) and dark body colouration (Figs 2, 3) (pale tan in E. eremaeus; see Rix et al. 2017c, figs 207, 208); and from those of E. latior by the presence of a brush-like field of filiform setae on the retrodistal palpal tibia, adjacent to the dRTA (Figs 12, 13) (absent in E. latior; see Rix et al. 2017c, figs 234, 235), and by the shape of the RTA, which is broader and less acutely angled anteriorly (Figs 12, 13; cf. Rix et al. 2017c, figs 234, 235). Females are unknown.

Description

Holotype male (WAM T56767)

Total length 11.5. Carapace 5.3 long, 4.8 wide. Abdomen 5.0 long, 3.6 wide. Carapace dark chocolate-brown, with darker grey-brown patterning on pars cephalica and black ocular region (Fig. 2); fovea straight (Fig. 2). Carapace (Fig. 2) broadly oval; lateral margins with evenly-spaced fringe of porrect black setae. Eye group (Fig. 5) trapezoidal, PLE–PLE/ALE–ALE ratio 1.8; 0.7 × as long as wide; ALE separated by slightly more than their own diameter; AME separated by roughly their own diameter; PME separated by 4.2 × their own diameter; PME and PLE separated by slightly more than diameter of PME, with PME positioned slightly anterior to level of PLE. Maxillae with field of cuspules confined to inner corner (Fig. 6); labium without cuspules. Abdomen oval, slightly shrunken, charcoal-coloured in dorsal view (Fig. 3), with faint tan mottling and small beige-grey sigilla spots. Dorsal surface of abdomen covered with stiff, porrect black setae, each with slightly raised, dark brown sclerotic base; sclerotized sigilla absent. Legs dark brown, with scopulae on tarsi I–II; tibia I (Figs 9–11) bearing large prolateral clasping spurs. Leg I: femur 5.4; patella 2.7; tibia 3.8; metatarsus 4.1; tarsus 2.5; total 18.5. Leg I femur–tarsus/carapace length ratio 3.5. Pedipalpal tibia nearly 2.0× longer than wide; RTA long and pointed, slightly attenuate proximally and gradually tapering distally, with field of ca. 30 retrolateral spinules extending along most of length (Figs 12, 13); tibia also with field of spinules extending along retroventral edge, distal to base of RTA, longest distally (Figs 11, 12), adjacent to fringe of filiform setae; dRTA a low mound. Cymbium setose, with field of long spinules disto-dorsally (Figs 12–14). Embolus broad, strongly curved and sharply tapering subdistally (Figs 12, 13), with low, broadly triangular embolic extension subdistally (Fig. 13).

Remarks

The collecting site (Figure 15) is dominated by trees of the genera Allocasuarina and Acacia in an area that sits on the boundary of the Jarrah Forest and Avon Wheatbelt bioregions (Department of the Environment 2013). The surrounding region is heavily cleared for farming activities, with relatively little natural habitat remaining. Searches for burrows at the site where the males were collected have failed to locate any active burrows, which either signifies their rarity or the extremely cryptic nature of many idiopid burrows in Australia. However, the species is sympatric with Idiosoma jarrah Rix & Harvey, 2018 (Rix et al. 2018a), burrows of which have been found at the collecting site. Detailed surveys in adjacent areas will be needed to ascertain whether E. ksenijae occurs in other undisturbed sites in the local region, or whether it is a short-range endemic (Harvey 2002; Harvey et al. 2011) that has declined to such an extent that it is now threatened (Rix et al. 2017b).

Sequence data

The following sequence data for this species are available on GenBank (see Rix et al. 2017a):

Holotype male, WAM T56767: COI (KY295253), 18S rRNA (KY294742), 28S rRNA (KY294863), ITS1–5.8S rRNA–ITS2 (KY294999), H3 (KY295126), HAT1 (KY304520), Cytb (KY295376), MRPL45 (KY295500), RPF2 (KY295620), XPNPEP3 (KY295747).

Etymology

This species is fondly named for Ksenija Leonija Elizabete Blosfelds (nee Koslowskis) (1906-2003), who passed away a few days before the type specimens were collected, and in recognition of her remarkable life.

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Figures 12–14. Eucyrtops ksenijae Rix & Harvey, sp. nov., holotype male (WAM T56767), pedipalp: 12, retrolateral view; 13, retroventral view; 14, prolateral view. Scale bar = 2 mm.