''Zephyrarchaea'' is a genus of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

assassin spiders 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 ...

first described by

Michael Gordon Rix Michael Gordon Rix is an Australian arachnologist, whose publications mainly concern spiders. , he was Principal Curator of Arachnology and Research Fellow in the Biodiversity and Geosciences Program at the Queensland Museum. He has held numerou ...

Mark Harvey Mark Harvey (born 11 June 1965) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played over 200 games during fourteen seasons with the Essendon Football Club, winning three premierships, and was senior coach of Fremantle from 2007 t ...

in 2012 for nine new species and two that were formerly placed in the genus ''

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 ...

''. The name is based on the Latin ', meaning "west wind", referring to the western distribution in Australia and a preference for windy, coastal habitats by some species. It has been encountered in Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia.

Differentiation from ''Austrarchaea''

They are distinguished from ''Austrarchaea'' by a notably shorter carapace, the distribution of long hairs (setae) on the male chelicerae, and by the shape of the conductor of the male palpal bulb. The Australian Alps may be a barrier dividing the two genera.

Species

the genus contains eleven species: * ''

Zephyrarchaea austini ''Zephyrarchaea austini'' or the Kangaroo Island assassin spider is a species of Australian assassin spiders that is endemic to the north west of Kangaroo Island, South Australia. It was discovered in 2010, and described 2012 by Michael G. Rix ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Kangaroo Island, South Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea barrettae ''Zephyrarchaea barrettae'' is a species of spider of the family Archaeidae. The Latin species name was chosen to honor Sarah Barrett, who first discovered assassin spiders in the Stirling Range National Park. Distribution and habitat ''Zephyr ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Western Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea grayi '' Zephyrarchaea grayi'', also known as the Grampians Assassin Spider, is a species of spider in the family Archaeidae. It is endemic to Grampians National Park in Australia. Taxonomy The holotype of the species was collected in Delley’s Del ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Victoria * ''

Zephyrarchaea janineae ''Zephyrarchaea janineae'' is a species of spider of the family Archaeidae. The Latin species name was chosen to honor Janine Wojcieszek who helped in discovering the first live specimens of the species in 2006. ''Zephyrarchaea janineae'' is end ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Western Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea mainae ''Zephyrarchaea mainae'' is a species of spider, informally known as Main's assassin spider, Albany assassin spider, and the Western archaeid spider. The first of the assassin spider family (Araneae, Archaeidae) found in Western Australia, the sp ...

'' (Platnick, 1991) – Western Australia;

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

* ''

Zephyrarchaea marae ''Zephyrarchaea marae'', the West Gippsland assassin spider, is a spider in the family Archaeidae. The species was first described by Michael G. Rix and Mark Harvey in 2012. It is endemic to Victoria in Australia. Taxonomy The species speci ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Victoria * ''

Zephyrarchaea marki ''Zephyrarchaea marki'', the Cape Le Grand assassin spider, is a species of spider in the family Archaeidae, commonly known as the assassin spiders. Known only from Cape Le Grand National Park in Western Australia, the species was first descri ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Western Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea melindae ''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''. ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Western Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea porchi The Otway Range Assassin Spider ''(Zephyrarchaea porchi)'' is a species of spider in the family Archaeidae. It is endemic to Victoria, Australia. Taxonomy The holotype for the species was collected near the Cape Otway Lighthouse by Dr. Nichola ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Victoria * ''

Zephyrarchaea robinsi ''Zephyrarchaea'' is a genus of Australian assassin spiders first described by Michael Gordon Rix & Mark Harvey in 2012 for nine new species and two that were formerly placed in the genus ''Austrarchaea''. The name is based on the Latin ', meanin ...

'' (Harvey, 2002) – Western Australia * ''

Zephyrarchaea vichickmani ''Zephyrarchaea vichickmani'', the Central Highlands assassin spider, is a spider in the family Archaeidae. The species was first described by Michael G. Rix and Mark Harvey in 2012. It is endemic to Victoria, Australia. Taxonomy The species ...

'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 – Victoria

References

Araneomorphae genera Archaeidae Endemic fauna of Australia Spiders of Australia {{Archaeidae-stub