Kwonkan, MAIN, 1983

Harvey, Mark S, Hillyer, Mia J, Main, Barbara York, Moulds, Timothy A, Raven, Robert J, Rix, Michael G, Vink, Cor J & Huey, Joel A, 2018, Phylogenetic relationships of the Australasian open-holed trapdoor spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Nemesiidae: Anaminae): multi-locus molecular analyses resolve the generic classification of a highly diverse fauna, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 184 (2), pp. 407-452 : 440-442

GENUS KWONKAN MAIN, 1983

FIGS 13 , 14

Kwonkan Main, 1983: 925 . Type species: Dekana wonganensis Main, 1977 , by original designation.

Yilgarnia Main, 1986: 396 . Type species: Yilgarnia currycomboides Main, 1986 , by original designation, syn. nov.

Diagnosis: Species of Kwonkan differ from other Anamini except Swolnpes by the presence of a field of spinules on the retrolateral face of the male pedipalpal tibia ( Figs 13C , 14C ), and a small accessory receptaculum on the female spermathecae ( Figs 13G , 14G ). Kwonkan differs from Swolnpes by the digitiform tarsus I in males ( Figs 13F , 14F ).

Description: Small to medium nemesiid spiders. Coloration: ranging from pale to yellow-brown.

Cephalothorax: Carapace ( Figs 13A , 14A ) strongly to sparsely hirsute, with eight eyes in two rows; PME slightly smaller than other eyes; fovea straight to procurved. Maxilla ( Figs 13E , 14E ) with strongly produced basal heel; with numerous cuspules distributed over medial half and heel of each maxilla, not restricted to narrow band; maxillary serrula absent. Labium ( Figs 13E , 14E ) wider than long, slightly indented anteriorly, without cuspules. Coxae III and IV usually without cuspules, but sometimes present. Sternum ( Figs 13B , 14B ) with three pairs of sigilla; posterior pairs oval to elongate, marginal to submarginal.

Chelicera: Rastellum weak to stout; cheliceral furrow with several prominent promarginal teeth and several small granules basomesally; intercheliceral tumescence absent.

Pedipalp ( Figs 13C, D , 14C, D ): Male tibia uniformly setose, with patch of spinules on retrolateral face, and without asetose ventral depression; tarsus (cymbium) short and terminally blunt, without medial constriction (in lateral view); with simple pyriform bulb and tapering embolus; embolus not reflexed.

Legs: Male tibia I ( Figs 13F , 14F ) with large ventral spur bearing one, or occasionally two, megaspines; metatarsus I strongly incrassate; scopula usually present on entire ventral tarsi of legs I and II, and lighter scopula on tarsi III and IV, and metatarsi I and II; tarsi usually with one or more spines; tarsus I not inflated; three claws, lateral claws each with two short rows of teeth; medial claw small and without ventral teeth.

Abdomen: Longer than wide. Two pairs of spinnerets; posterior median spinnerets unsegmented and separated by about diameter of spinneret; posterior lateral spinnerets three-segmented, apical segment elongate, digitiform.

Female genitalia ( Figs 13G , 14G ): One pair of lobate spermathecae each with small accessory receptaculum.

Distribution: Species of Kwonkan are known from throughout southern and central Australia, mostly in arid or semi-arid habitats. Along with Aname and Teyl , they are a major component of the mygalomorph fauna of the central inland arid zone.

Remarks: The molecular analyses confirmed that Kwonkan and Yilgarnia formed a monophyletic group which also included Aname turrigera Main, 1994 ( Fig. 3 ). The clade Kwonkan + Yilgarnia was sister to Swolnpes . Females of all three taxa possess a small, medial accessory receptaculum on the spermathecae ( Main, 1983, 1986, 1994) ( Figs 13G , 14G , 15G ), and males have a field of spinules on the retrolateral face of the pedipalpal tibia ( Main, 1983, 1986, 2008) ( Figs 13C , 14C , 15C ). While Kwonkan and Yilgarnia were originally defined on putatively autapomorphic features including the presence of spines on at least one pair of pedal tarsi in Kwonkan ( Main, 1983) and cuspules on coxae III and IV in Yilgarnia ( Main, 1986, 2008) ( Fig. 14B ), we have examined specimens (lodged in the WAM) that confound these diagnoses, including some species that lack tarsal spines and others that have both tarsal spines and coxal cuspules. Rather than devise a generic classification that attempts to incorporate all of this variation, we prefer to recognize a single genus-group name, Kwonkan , and redefine the genus as outlined in the Diagnosis (above). This renders Yilgarnia as a junior synonym of Kwonkan (syn. nov.).

The molecular inclusion of Aname turrigera in Kwonkan is also strongly supported by the morphological features of the females described by Main (1994). The spermathecae have a small accessory receptaculum as found in other species of the Kwonkan group ( Main, 1994, fig. 1I–K), and the abdomen has a distinctive colour pattern with a series of dark chevrons on a pale background, reminiscent of patterns found in other congeners ( Main, 1983, 1986, 2008). Main (1994) noted a strong resemblance between A. turrigera , Kwonkan and Yilgarnia , but as A. turrigera lacked the diagnostic features of those genera, which included the presence of tarsal spines in Kwonkan and coxal cuspules in Yilgarnia , she suggested it may eventually be found to belong to a new genus. Aname turrigera has been recorded from either side of the Nullarbor Plain of southern Australia and is the only nemesiid that is known to construct an elevated turret to its burrow through or against vegetation ( Main, 1994) ( Fig. 1O).

The genus Kwonkan now contains nine named species including the six species originally included in the genus Kwonkan by Main (1983), two species formerly in Yilgarnia ( Main, 1986, 2008) and K. turrigera ( Main, 1994) . There are numerous other species known from museum collections, and there is ample molecular data to support the hypothesis of a highly diverse fauna ( Castalanelli et al., 2014; this study).

Included species: Kwonkan anatolion Main, 1983 ; K. currycomboides ( Main, 1986) comb. nov., transferred from Yilgarnia ; K. eboracum Main, 1983 ; K. goongarriensis Main, 1983 ; K. linnaei ( Main, 2008) comb. nov., transferred from Yilgarnia ; K. moriartii Main, 1983 ; K. silvestris Main, 1983 ; K. turrigera ( Main, 1994) comb. nov., transferred from Aname ; and K. wonganensis (Main, 1977) .

Figures

Figure 3. Bayesian inference (BI) phylogeny (FULL_dataset, see Table 3) of Australasian Nemesiidae, based on seven genes; 12S, 16S, COI, H3, 18S, 28S and EF-1γ. Nodes show the posterior probability and bootstrap support when both maximum likelihood (ML) and BI trees were congruent. The ML tree is shown in Supporting Information, Fig. S1.

Figure 13. Kwonkan MYG006:A–F, male from Jimblebar minesite, 35 km E of Newman,Western Australia (WAM T95406); G, female from 69.1 km NW of Newman, Western Australia (WAM T127221): A, cephalothorax, dorsal; B, cephalothorax, ventral; C, right pedipalp, reversed, retrolateral; D, left pedipalp, ventral; E, maxillae and labium; F, distal segments of left leg I, retrolateral; G, spermathecae.

Figure 14. Kwonkan currycomboides (Main), type species of the newly synonymized genus Yilgarnia: A–F, male holotype from Peak Charles, Western Australia (WAM T85/449); G, female paratype from same locality (WAM T85/459): A, cephalothorax, dorsal; B, cephalothorax, ventral; C, right pedipalp, reversed, retrolateral; D, right pedipalp, reversed, ventral; E, maxillae and labium; F, distal segments of left leg I, retrolateral; G, spermathecae.

Figure 15. Swolnpes darwini Main and Framenau, type species of Swolnpes, and S. MYG415: A–F, S. darwini, male holotype from Tropicana mining lease, Great Victoria Desert, Western Australia (WAM T97486); G, S. MYG415, female from Woodleigh Station, Western Australia (WAM T138425): A, cephalothorax, dorsal; B, cephalothorax, ventral; C, right pedipalp, reversed, retrolateral; D, right pedipalp, reversed, ventral; E, maxillae and labium; F, distal segments of left leg I, retrolateral; G, spermathecae.