Australasian Arachnology, Number 70, December 2004

This is it, my first issue! As Tracey announced in the editorial of the last Australasian Arachnology, it’s now my turn ‘at the helm’ of our newsletter. Everybody will agree that Tracey did a tremendous job over the last five years, editing 15 wonderful issues (numbers 55 – 69). Parallels of the current change to her take-over from Mark Harvey as previous editor are evident. As then Mark, Tracey embraces a new role as parent and her increasing family duties do not allow as many arachnological activities at this stage

Australasian Arachnology, Number 75, September 2006

Again, this issue is a bit late (September instead of August) but I hope the diverse and exciting contents will make up for the delay. As per usual, the Australian Arachnological Society is grateful to all who contributed to this issue! More excitingly, I already have articles for the December issue. Stay tuned for an update on the taxonomy of Australian jumping spiders by Marek Zabka

Australasian Arachnology, Number 71, April 2005

Nearly 20 years after the first meeting of the Society in Tunanda in 1986 and more than 10 years after the Internationonal Arachnological Congress in Brisbane, in 1993, there will be another ‘reunion’ of the Australasian Arachnological Society. As part of the Combined Australian Entomological Society, Society of Australian Systematic Biologists and Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation Conference (Australian National University, Canberra) from 4-9 December 2005, we are organizing a symposium ‘Australasian Arachnology – Evolution, Ecology and Conservation’ Currently, there are two sessions earmarked for this symposium, however, the final format will be determined by the number of participants. Please register your interest with the conference organisers. A call of abstracts will be sent out in June (for details please check: http://www.invertebrates2005.com)

Australasian Arachnology, Number 72, August 2005

Just days before this newsletter went to the printer, the Australasian Arachnological Society launched its own website: www.australasian-arachnology.org It was a great effort from all involved, but two people in particular (who are not even directly involved with our society) deserve a special mention: Randolf Manderbach (web programming) and Thomas García Godines (graphic design) professionally developed and programmed the lay-out of our website, for free! Thanks to both of them! You will find further acknowledgements and some information in regard to the ‘philosophy’ of our site in an introductory article on page 4. Similar to this newsletter, the website will prosper only through contributions and feedback from all of you

Gnaphosa inconspecta and Xysticus viduus, two remarkable spider species from the Upper Isar River (Southern Bavaria, Germany) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae, Thomisidae)

Im Rahmen eines mehrjährigen Forschungsvorhabens (gefördert aus Mitteln des Stifterverbandes für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Essen, und des Bundesministeriums für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Förderkennzeichen 0339530) werden an mehreren alpinen Wildflüssen, vor allem an der Oberen Isar, neben anderen Projekten auch populationsökologische Untersuchungen an Spinnen durchgeführt (FRAMENAU 1995). Hierbei gelang zwischen der Gemeinde Krün und dem Sylvensteinspeicher der Nachweis von zwei selten gefundenen Spinnenarten, Gnaphosa inconspecta SIMON, 1878 und Xysticus viduus KULCZYNSKI, 1898

Wolf spiders of the Pacific region: the genus \u3ci\u3eZoica\u3c/i\u3e (Araneae, Lycosidae)

The wolf spider genus Zoica Simon 1898 is currently known only from the Indo-Australasian region, including India in the west to northern Western Australia and Papua New Guinea in the east. Here we extend the known distribution of the genus into the Pacific region by describing two new species, Z. carolinensis new species from the Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Z. pacifica new species from the Republic of the Marshall Islands

A Review of Leg Ornamentation in Male Wolf Spiders, with the Description of a New Species from Australia, \u3ci\u3eArtoria schizocoides \u3c/i\u3e (Araneae, Lycosidae)

Morphological modifications of the first pair of legs in addition to widespread color variations of these legs among males of closely related species have been reported in a variety of spiders. Here, the evidence for sexual dimorphism in male foreleg morphology within wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) is reviewed and shown to occur in a number of species belonging to at least seven genera in five subfamilies: Alopecosa, Hogna, Schizocosa (all Lycosinae) Pirata (Piratinae), Evippa, (Evippinae), Pardosa (Pardosinae) and Artoria (Artoriinae). These modifications, often in combination with distinct dark pigmentation, can be divided into three major groups: leg elongation, segment swelling and exaggerated setation (“brushes”). The latter two occur mainly on the tibial segment of the first leg. The function of these foreleg modifications has been studied most extensively in the genus Schizocosa. Since the courtship displays of all male Schizocosa incorporate a seismic component, foreleg ornamentation (namely pigmentation and associated “brushes”) composes only one part of a multimodal courtship display. The function of this foreleg ornamentation appears to vary across closely related Schizocosa species and in some instances involves an interaction with the seismic signaling component. In most instances it appears to play a role in female mate choice and/or mate choice learning. In addition to reviewing lycosid foreleg modifications, we describe a new species of wolf spider, Artoria schizocoides from southwestern Western Australia that possesses sexually dimorphic modifications of the tibia of the first leg. Unique within the Artoriinae, males of this species carry spatulate setae on the ventral side of the tibia of the first leg that differ morphologically from other leg modifications in wolf spiders

Epigaeic spiders (Araneae) of small, man-made habitats on the Lahnberge Campus of the Philipps-University Marburg (Hesse, Germany)

During May and June 1994, 45 pitfall traps were exposed in three types of small, urban habitats: traffic islands, flat gravel roofs and courtyards ranging from 65 to 1.800m2 . The three habitat types differ in their exposure to sun and wind creating microclimatic conditions similar to a variety of natural habitats, i.e. grassland, rocky outcrops and forests. In total, 2.163 spiders (147 juveniles) were caught, belonging to 61 species in 16 families. A cluster analysis showed distinctively different spider assemblages for the three habitat types. Traffic islands are inhabited by a typical open land community. Dominating species are Alopecosa pulverulenta, Pardosa pullata and Pachygnatha degeeri. Gravel roofs show high numbers of salticids, in particular Euophrys lanigera. Courtyards lack dominant species and show a high number of species naturally occurring in forest habitats. The activity density on the gravel roofs and in the courtyards does not appear to be high enough to support stable populations.Im Mai und Juni 1994 wurden im Universitätsgelände der Philipps Universität auf den Lahnbergen bei Marburg/Hessen drei unterschiedliche anthropogene Stadthabitate mit der Hilfe von Bodenfallen untersucht: Verkehrsinseln, Kiesdächer und Innenhöfe (Flächengröße 65-1.8OOm2). Die drei Habitattypen unterschieden sich in ihrer Sonnen- und Windexposition und zeigen Ähnlichkeit mit verschiedensten natürlichen Lebensraumen: Offenland, Felsbereiche, fließgewässerbegleitende Kiesinseln und Wald. Insgesamt wurden 2.163 Spinnen (davon 147 Jungtiere) gefangen. Sie gehörten zu 61 Arten in 16 Familien. Eine Clusteranalyse ergab klar unterschiedliche Spinnengemeinschaften für die drei Habitattypen. Verkehrsinseln werden van einer typischen Offenlandgesellschaft besiedelt. Es dominieren Alopecosa pulverulenta, Pardosa pullata und Pachygnatha degeeri. Kiesdächerzeigen vergleichsweise hohe Aktivitätsdichten von Springspinnen (insbesondere Euophrys lanigera ).lnnenhöfe besitzen keine Charakterarten. Sie werden vor allem von Waldarten besiedelt. Die Aktivitätsdichten auf den Kiesdächern und in den Innenhöfen scheinen nicht hoch genug zu sein, um stabile Populationen zu belegen

The tube-web spiders of the genus Ariadna (Araneae: Segestriidae) from South Australia and Victoria

The tube-web spider genus Ariadna Audouin, 1826 has been revised for South Australia and Victoria, revealing a remarkable diversity, particularly centred in the arid north of South Australia. We describe 23 species as new, ten of which are supported by molecular data, where these were available. We recognise two species groups for some of the species based on a combination of genitalic morphology, macrosetae patterns and somatic characters: the clavata species group, which includes Ariadna clavata Marsh, Baehr, Glatz & Framenau, 2018 and A. spinosa sp. nov. from South Australia, and A. otwayensis sp. nov. and A. sinuosa sp. nov. from Victoria, and the formosa species group, including A. formosa sp. nov. and A. umbra sp. nov. from South Australia, and A. tria sp. nov. from Victoria. Seventeen new species could not be placed into these two species groups: A. arenacea sp. nov., A. bellatula sp. nov., A. curvata sp. nov., A. deserta sp. nov., A. diucrura sp. nov., A. flavescens sp. nov., A. inflata sp. nov., A. insula sp. nov., A. pollex sp. nov., A. propria sp. nov., A. rutila sp. nov., Ariadna simplex sp. nov., A. subplana sp. nov., A. una sp. nov., A. ungua sp. nov., A. valida sp. nov. and A. woinarskii sp. nov. We provide updated diagnoses and distributional data for A. clavata and A. tangara Marsh, Baehr, Glatz & Framenau, 2018; however, the holotype of A. burchelli (Hogg, 1900) from Victoria could not be located for this project

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

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