''Cataxia eungellaensis'' is a species of
idiopid spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s, found in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
[
]
Description
''Cataxia eungellaensis'' is only known from the female. It is dark brown in general colouration, the legs being dark with yellow-red naked streaks. Abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
is moderately hairy, with a brown pattern of bands fused into a background of pale yellow. The cephalothorax
The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
is glabrous and is 10.2mm long and 8.2mm wide. The eye group is compact, with the front row slightly procurved. The sternum lacks spinule Spinules are small spines or thorns (vertebral columns) that are part of biological and manmade structures. The word originates from the Latin word and is often used in botany and zoology.
The presence or absence of spinules, and their shape, can ...
s, and the labium has nine cuspules, eight of which are in an irregular row, with one anterior to them. There is one large tarsal claw sometimes with one small one beneath it.[
]
Biology
''Cataxia eungellaensis'' prefers wet, dense rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s where it makes its burrow on slopes where moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
and fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s grow.
The burrow has a flap-like door which lies over or folds into flanged rim of
the burrow; large burrows silk-lined throughout, horizontal, with the hinge lines of
doors on the upward side of the opening; thus when the doors are open the apertures of the tubes face down-slope.[Main, B. Y. (1969). The trap-door spider genus ''Cataxia'' Rainbow (Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae)-taxonomy and natural history. ''Journal of the Australian Entomological Society'' 8: 192-209.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2130195
Idiopidae
Spiders described in 1969
Spiders of Australia
Fauna of Queensland