''Zephyrarchaea mainae'' is a species of

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 ...

, informally known as Main's assassin spider, Albany assassin spider, and the Western archaeid spider. The first of the assassin spider family (

Araneae 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 dive ...

Archaeidae Archaeidae, also known as assassin spiders and pelican spiders, is a spider family with about ninety described species in five genera. It contains small spiders, ranging from long, that prey exclusively on other spiders. They are unusual in that ...

) found in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, the species was unknown until its collection at

Torndirrup National Park Torndirrup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and via Frenchman Bay Road is south of Albany. Torndirrup National Park has many impressive rock formations on the coast. Thes ...

near Albany was published in 1987.

Taxonomy

Formally described as ''Austrarchaea mainae'' by

Norman Platnick Norman Ira Platnick (December 30, 1951 – April 8, 2020) was an American biological systematist and arachnologist. At the time of his death, he was a professor emeritus of the Richard Gilder Graduate School and Peter J. Solomon Family Curator Em ...

in 1991, the spider was nominated as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

for the Australian endemic genus ''

Zephyrarchaea ''Zephyrarchaea'' is a genus of Australian Archaeidae, assassin spiders first described by Michael Gordon Rix & Mark Harvey (arachnologist), Mark Harvey in 2012 for nine new species and two that were formerly placed in the genus ''Austrarchaea''. ...

''. This split from the more widely distributed ''

Austrarchaea ''Austrarchaea'' is a genus of Australian Archaeidae, assassin spiders first described by Raymond Robert Forster & Norman I. Platnick in 1984. A further 25 were described by Michael G. Rix, Michael Gordon Rix and Mark Harvey (arachnologist), Mark ...

'' was published in 2012, after further specimens were found and collected in nearby areas, along with several other related archaeid species discovered in the region. Comparative analysis of genotyped archaeid species supports the spider's classification as a species, as does the restricted mobility and specialised habitat of populations.

Description

A species of

(assassin spider) around three millimetres long. One distinguishing characteristic is the presence of six humps on the upper side of the abdomen, not found on any species of ''

'' but the nearby and closely related '' Zephyrarchaea janineae''; these tubercles are arranged in three pairs. The feature is reduced in collections of the Eastern population near Bremer, suggesting they are an emergent species.

Distribution

Found only near the southern coast of

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...

, a biodiversity hotspot, the species is listed as ‘Threatened’ under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. The range centres on Torndirrup south of Albany, to the

Walpole-Nornalup National Park Walpole-Nornalup National Park is a national park in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia, south of Perth. It is famous for its towering karri and tingle trees. Eucalyptus jacksonii, Red tingle trees are un ...

in the west and eastward to

Bremer Bay Bremer may refer to: People *Bremer (surname) *Bremer Ehrler (born 1914), American politician * Bremer (born 1997), Brazilian footballer Places ;Australia *Bremer Bay, Western Australia *Bremer Marine Park *Bremer Island * Bremer River (disambigua ...

. The population also occurs inland near the Porongurup range. ''Zephyrarchaea mainae'' is restricted to a high rainfall, near coastal habitat of heathland or forest. Most often associated with bushland dominated by ''

Agonis flexuosa ''Agonis flexuosa'' is a species of tree that grows in the south west of Western Australia. It is easily the most common of the ''Agonis'' species, and is one of the most recognisable trees of Western Australia, being commonly grown in parks an ...

'' (weeping peppermint), or low shrubs, an outlying population has been collected in

karri forest Karri forest is a tall open forest type dominated by ''Eucalyptus diversicolor'' (karri), one of the tallest hardwoods in the world. Karri forest occurs only in the south-west corner of the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia, in ...

Habitat

The habitat within the wider range of ''Z. mainae'' is restricted to particular assemblages of flora, which the understory of sedges, ''

Lepidosperma gladiatum ''Lepidosperma gladiatum'' is commonly known as the coast sword-sedge or coastal sword-sedge. It is an evergreen species of sedge that is native to southern coastal areas of Australia. It was described by French botanist Jacques Labillardière in ...

'' and ''

Lepidosperma effusum ''Lepidosperma effusum'', commonly known as the riverside sword sedge or spreading sword sedge, is an evergreen species of sedge that is native to southwest Western Australia. Description The sedge has a robust and tufted habit typically growing ...

'', and other grasses such '' Empodisma gracillimum'' form an elevated and complex crown of leaf and branch litter. The habitat is vulnerable to changes in fire regimes, and the species occurs only when it has remained unburnt for many decades.

References

Archaeidae Spiders described in 2012 Spiders described in 1991 Spiders of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia {{Archaeidae-stub