Poecilipta venusta Rainbow, 1904

Raven, Robert J., 2015, & lt; strong & gt; A revision of ant-mimicking spiders of the family Corinnidae (Araneae) in the Western Pacific & lt; / strong & gt;, Zootaxa 3958 (1), pp. 1-258 : 191-193

Poecilipta venusta Rainbow, 1904

( Fig. 107a–f . Map 65)

Poecilipta venusta Rainbow, 1904: 333 ; Rainbow, 1911: 254; Roewer, 1955: 635.

Material: New South Wales: holotype ♀, Enfield, near Sydney, 33°52'S, 151°05'E, Dr E.P. Ramsay, October, 1904, AM KS8692 .

Other Material: New South Wales: 1♂, Mt Lambie , 33°27'S, 149°58'E, G.S. Hunt & AM Education Volunteers , AM KS29936 . South Australia: 1♀, 2.1 km NE Sugargum Lookout, Mt Remarkable NP, Oct 1982, G. Coombe & National parks & Wildlife Service, SAMA NN8316 ; 1♀, 2.1 km NE Blinman, Flinders range, 31°04'S ,

138°37'E, May 1992, A.J. McArthur, SAMA NN8317 . Victoria: 1♀, Neds Corner , 34°08'S, 141°18'E, 22—29 Nov 2011, B. Baehr, QM S91479 ; 2♂, same data but 34°12'S, 141°31'E, and 34°07'S, 141°17'E, QM S98190 , QM S98189 . Queensland: 1♀, Lake Broadwater , ca . 27°20'S, 151°05'E, during 1985, M. Bennie & QM, QM S12399 .

Diagnosis. Males differ from those of P. qunats sp. nov. in the terminal portion of the embolus being relatively longer than the diagonal basal portion. Females differ from those of P. lugubris sp. nov. in the large paired pallid areas on the dorsal abdomen ( Fig. 107f ), the slightly longer spermathecae ( Fig. 107d ) and the spines ventrally on tibia I that are strong but weak on tibia II, whereas in P. lugubris sp. nov. they are weak both on tibia I and II.

Description Male AM KS29936

Carapace 2.40 long, 1.44 wide. Abdomen 2.48 long, 1.12 wide. Total length 5.0.

Colour: carapace orange brown with bluish bloom with fine brown lines radially and brown V in front of fovea; dorsal abdominal scute for five-sixths of length and bipartite: anterior third appears higher and thicker, shiny, smooth dark brown with aquamarine blue bloom, posterior portion lighter brown with ferrous bloom; egs I and II and tarsi III and IV yellow; femora and tibiae III and IV yellow with long brown stripes dorsally and laterally; metatarsi III and IV brown; no pallid zones laterally on abdomen. Carapace: shiny, smooth with bluish bloom, uniform light cover of fine hair; long fovea at edge of posterior slope. Legs: tarsi with thick setae ventrally; feathery hairs on femora; femur IV unmodified. Spines: long and strong on tibiae and metatarsi I and II. I: fe p1d3; ti v2.2.2; me v2.2. II: fe d3; ti v2.2.2; me v2.2. III: fe d3r1; pa d1; ti p2r2v2.2; me p2r2v2.2 +dw4. IV: fe p1d3r1; pa d1; ti p2d2v2.2; me p2r2v2.2.3. Palp: fe d2; pa d1; ti p1d2, plus cymbium ventrally with spine beside embolus prolaterally. Abdomen: dorsal scute, separate from epigastric scute, for seven-eighths of length with median constriction, with pair of long anteriorly directed bristles on front face and light cover of white feathery hairs; petiolar collar short but with dorsal extent. Palp: embolus basally wide, twists back into groove and tapers to tip; retrolateral subtegular excavation small, ovoid; paracymbial spine short, beak-like.

Holotype female AM KS8692

Colour: cuticle translucent, presumably through long preservation; carapace dark red brown; femora darker than patellae-tibiae; abdomen with oval brown dorsal scute for one-eighth to one-sixth of length; otherwise pallid with pair of trianguloid dark marks laterally at half length and pointing to centre line; laterally marks form broad diagonal sash from dorsal anteriorly to ventral posteriorly. Carapace: scales absent; fine widely spaced serration on margin. Spines: on tibia I and metatarsi I and II all long. I: fe p1d3; pa 0; ti v2.2.2; me v2.2. II: fe d3; pa 0; ti v2.2.2; me v2.2. III: fe p2d3; pa d1w; ti p2r2v2.2; me p3r3v2.2.2. IV: fe d3r1; pa d1w; ti p2r2v2.2.2; me p3r3v2.2.2. Palp: fe d2; pa p1d2; ti p2d2; ta p1v2. Abdomen: without lateral constriction or sudden widening. Epigyne: externally with recurved ridges over copulatory fossae; copulatory ducts straight anteriorly for half length of major duct, form U-loop at about two-thirds of CD length and head of spermathecae small and pass back touching and then ectally to major lobe.

Distribution and Habitat. Known from Sydney, and western NSW, northwestern Victoria, adjacent northeastern South Australia and southwestern Queensland.

Figures

FIGURE 107. Poecilipta venusta Rainbow, 1904. a, b, male, AM KS29936, palpal tibia, bulb and cymbium: a, ventral view; b, retrolateral view; c–d, f, female, SAMA NN8317, epigyne (c, d): external (c), internal (d); e, holotype, AM KS8692, epigyne internal; f, habitus.