Namea nigritarsus Rix & Wilson & Harvey 2020, sp. nov.

Namea nigritarsus sp. nov.

(Figs 8, 12, 13, 15a, b, 55–67) http://zoobank.org/?lsid= urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FAE2227F-8DE5-430E-8E6C-CE5526363071

Namea bunya Raven, 1984: 15 (in part; cited paratype specimens QMB S785 from Mount Mee).

Namea excavans Raven, 1984: 29 (in part; cited paratype specimen QMB S830 from Mount Mee).

Namea sp. ‘D’Aguilar’ Rix et al., 2020: 683, 686, figs 2, 3, 105, 106, 108.

Type material. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: male holotype, Mount Glorious, pitfall trap, rainforest, 1987/88, R. Goundy (QMB S111534).

Other material examined. Australia: Queensland: 1 juvenile, D’Aguilar National Park, Mount Glorious, Maiala section, lower rainforest circuit, 27°19’54”S, 152°45’44”E, hand collected from burrow, rainforest, 10 April 2019, M. Rix, J. Wilson (QMB S111458 DNA); 1 juvenile, same data except 2 February 2019 (QMB S111375 DNA); 1 juvenile, D’Aguilar National Park, Mount Mee section, 27°05’10”S, 152°41’14”E, hand collected from burrow, rainforest, 532 m, 18 February 2019, M. Rix, J. Wilson (QMB S111390 DNA); 1 juvenile, same data except The Mill Rainforest Walk, 27°04’54”S, 152°42’36”E, 293 m (QMB S111398 DNA); 2 males, Mount Mee, Neurum Creek (GM99), pitfall trap, rainforest, 550 m, 13 Febraury– 30 August 1979, G. & S. Monteith (QMB S785); 1 male, same data except (GM90), 26 February –26 June 1978 (QMB S830).

Diagnosis. Males of Namea nigritarsus can be distinguished from those of all other described congeners except N. bunya and N. nebo by the following combination of four characters: embolus long, reflexed and whip like (Figs 65–67); retroventral margin of palpal tibia with single, isolated, proximal macroseta (Figs 65, 66); tibia I with prolateral (p) macrosetae (Figs 62, 64); and macroseta v1 on tibia I short, not reaching beyond ventro-distal margin of tibia I (Fig. 64). Males can be further distinguished from those of N. bunya by the longer macroseta v1 on tibia I (Fig. 64; cf. Rix et al. 2020, fig. 121); and from those of N. nebo by the shape of the palpal bulb, which is produced along its transverse axis and swollen near the base of the embolus (Fig. 66; cf. Figs 78–80), the shallower, only slightly concave ventro-distal excavation anterior to macroseta v1 (Fig. 64; cf. Fig. 77), and absence of a covering of downy, reflective setae on the carapace (Figs 55, 57; cf. Figs 68, 70).

Females are unknown.

Description (male holotype): Total length 11.6. Carapace 5.3 long, 3.9 wide. Abdomen 4.9 long, 3.1 wide. Carapace (Fig. 55) dark chocolate-brown and sparsely setose; lateral margins with fringe of anteriorly curved, porrect black setae, longest posteriorly; fovea straight. Eye group (Fig. 58) rectangular, twice as wide as long, PLE–PLE/ALE–ALE ratio 1.0; AME separated by less than their own diameter; PME separated by 3.6 X their own diameter; PME and PLE almost contiguous. Maxillae each with field of ca. 50 cuspules confined to heel and inner proximal corner (Fig. 59); labium without cuspules. Abdomen (Figs 56, 61) oval, dark brown with course pale beige-brown marbled pattern dorsally, and pale beige-brown ventrally with finer dark brown mottling, the latter concentrated slightly anterior to spinnerets; covered with short, fine setae. Legs (Figs 55, 62–64) dark tan-brown, with light scopulae on tarsi I–IV and distal half of metatarsi I–II; tibia I with 3 prodorsal, 2 prolateral, 3 proventral and 3 ventral macrosetae; macroseta v1 not reaching beyond ventro-distal margin of tibia I (Fig. 64). Leg I: femur 4.1, patella 2.6, tibia 3.1, metatarsus 3.5, tarsus 2.3, total length 15.6. Leg I femur–tarsus/carapace length ratio 2.9. Pedipalpal tibia (Figs 65–67) 2.7 X longer than wide, with isolated, proximal retroventral macroseta, 1 retrodistal macroseta, 1 dorsal macroseta, and 1 prodistal macroseta. Cymbium (Figs 65–67) setose, distally cleft in retrolateral view, with distal scopula. Bulb (Figs 65–67) produced along transverse axis and swollen near base of embolus, with long, whip-like, reflexed embolus arising from proventral base of bulb.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun derived from the Latin nigra (adjective: ‘black’), and the Latin tarsus (noun: ‘foot’), in reference to the dark colouration of the distal legs of this species in life (Fig. 8).

Distribution. Namea nigritarsus is endemic to the D’Aguilar Range, where it is known from rainforest at Mount Glorious, Mount Mee (Fig. 2) and possibly also Mount Nebo (Fig. 9).

Remarks. This attractive species occurs in rainforest habitats over much of the D’Aguilar Range, where it has been recorded syntopically at various locations with a number of other species, including N. brisbanensis, N. gowardae and N. salanitri. The spiders are smaller than all of the aforementioned species, and are distinctive in life, with reddish legs and the appearance of black ‘socks’ on the tarsi and metatarsi (Fig. 8). Burrows have been found in rainforest banks, and sometimes have silk extending out from the main entrance hole (Fig. 12). Little is known of its biology or life history, other than that males appear to be active in autumn or winter.