Bioacoustics of Laetesia raveni

Description. Male holotype (from Lamington National Park, Binna Burra Section, 24.iv.2011 ): Total length 3.40. Cephalothorax 1.60 long, 1.24 wide. Sternum 0.78 long, 0.79 wide, shield-shaped. Abdomen 2.00 long, 0.95 wide. Colour (preserved specimen): Cephalothorax, legs and abdomen yellowish white. Carapace with broad blackish margin, also surrounding cephalon. Black rings around eyes. Fovea with black Y-shaped marking. Abdomen with irregular black and white dorsal markings ( Figs. 1 A–E). Legs with distinct black annulations distally on tibiae and metatarsi ( Fig. 1 E). AME diameter 0.09. Clypeus height 4 times AME diameter. Cephalon with long strong setae in ocular area ( Fig. 4 C). Chelicerae with 4 prolateral teeth, the second distal-most with dorso-ventral fork. Chelicerae without stridulating file. Retrolateral teeth not visible on type specimen, but a subadult male from Dorrigo National Park had 3 on the right chelicera and 4 on the left. Femur I 2.84 long, 1.78 times length of cephalothorax. All femora with long strong setae ventrally and shorter strong proximal setae dorsally. Ventral setae several times longer than diameter of femora. Leg formula 1243. Trichobothrium metatarsus I = 0.18. Pedipalp ( Figs. 2 , 3 A): Tibia unmodified, with a long dorsal macroseta and one dorsal and two retrolateral trichobothria. Cymbium dorsally widest at the basal third, gradually tapering towards a blunt apex. Alveolus occupying the basal half of cymbium. Tarsal organ apicoventral. Paracymbium intersegmental, U-shaped, with broad base, tapering distally into a pointed apex. Tegular division with a pointed caudal apophysis (which in mesoventral view sits over the base of the suprategulum; Fig. 3 A) and an anteriorly projected apical lobe with a sack-like membranous process that is more sclerotized in its acutely pointed apex ( Figs. 2 B and 3A, left pointing arrow). Suprategulum projected into a long distal suprategular apophysis (DSA), with a slightly bifurcating pointed apex ( Figs. 2 B–C). Column in caudal position on the tegular division, bearing a long, membranous embolic membrane that in mesal view runs parallel to the DSA and the embolus ( Figs. 2 B–C). Lamella characteristica massive, about the same length of cymbium, highly sclerotized and with two apical processes: a conspicuous setiform sclerotized apophysis and two processes with highly serrated margins (one membranous, the other sclerotized; Fig. 2 C, left pointing arrow). Embolus arm-shaped, running parallel to the DSA and embolic membrane ( Fig. 2 C). Radix a slight engrossment of the embolus base, concealed under the lamella characteristica. A slightly sclerotized sclerite, with a linguiform process, sits anteriad to the embolus base (possibly a homolog of the terminal apophysis; Fig. 2 C). Spermduct with a kinked diameter constriction on dorsal tegular region (in mesoventral view the narrowing of the duct can be seen under the column; Fig. 3 A). Female paratype (together with holotype ): Total length 5.27. Cephalothorax 1.98 long, 1.44 wide. Sternum 1.04 long, 0.98 wide, shield-shaped. Abdomen 3.32 long, 1.79 wide. Colour (preserved specimen): As male holotype . AME diameter 0.08. Clypeus height 0.42, 5.25 times AME diameter. Chelicerae with 3 prolateral and 4 retrolateral teeth. Chelicerae without stridulating file. Femur I 3.59 long, 1.81 times length of cephalothorax. All femora with long strong setae ventrally and shorter strong proximal setae dorsally. Ventral setae several times longer than diameter of femora. Leg formula 1243. Pedipalp long and slender (1.4 times the length of cephalothorax) and provided with long spines on tibia and tarsus. Trichobothrium metatarsus I = 0.17. Epigynum ( Figs. 3 B–D, 4A–B): Epigynal region bulging in lateral view. Dorsal plate broad, with a sclerotized basal stalk on midventral surface, projected into a long scape bearing an apicoventral socket with darker pigmentation. Posterior margin of ventral plate (VP) cleaved, forming two semicircular lobes. Atrium flanked by two small digitiform processes on VP, caudally oriented. Copulatory openings in mid epigynal region, at the base of the dorsal plate (DP) stalk, in atrium (under VP). Copulatory ducts (CD) make long loops towards the lateral margins. Spermathecae darkly pigmented, curved as an extension of CD, visible by transparency through the epigynal cuticle on both sides of the VP lobes. Fertilization duct located dorsally at the DP margin, caudolaterally oriented ( Fig. 3 C), then curving anteriad. Tracheae (Binna Burra, 2010 specimens) can be seen in life specimens by transparency through the abdominal cuticle. The tracheal trunks are very superficial, consisting of two simple, unbranched pairs (haplotracheate system). Lateral pair seen as thin white lines running anteriorly from atrium and then dorsally on abdomen; median pair can be seen too, not as superficial as lateral. Life coloration. Female ( Figs. 1 A–E): Carapace green, margins dark green (wider marks in posterior half), cephalic region darker, Y-shaped, extending into fovea. Black rings around eyes. Sternum uniformly green. All leg segments translucent light green; leg tibiae and metatarsi darker, more brownish, distally suffused with dark/ blackish pigment. Abdomen bright green, with a longitudinal median band, brown and black with a few yellow marks, delineated by white guanine spots. Ventrally uniformly green, with dark brown spots in front of epigastric furrow (copulatory ducts and spermatheca). Males (n = 3) of similar colour, green tint not as bright as in females. Variation. Colour (in preserved specimens): Blackish markings on carapace vary from a faint band along carapace margin to almost total coverage in certain individuals. Dorsal abdominal markings may be more or less pronounced and some female individuals are a little darker, overall. Epigynum: Lateral digitiform processes on VP vary in length, even in specimens from same locality, and can be absent. Measurements: Male total length ranges from 3.37 to 3.40 (n = 2). Female total length varies from 3.36 to 5.27 (n = 20). Male cephalothorax ranges from 1.57 to 1.60 (n = 3). Female cephalothorax length ranges from 1.31 to 1.98 (n = 20). Phylogenetic placement. No explicitly phylogenetic (i.e., synapomorphy based) circumscription exists for the genus Laetesia . Simon (1908) originally described Laetesia to group two new species from Western Australia . Van Helsdingen (1972) provided the first modern definition of the genus, based on overall similarity. Millidge (1988) similarly defined the genus upon further study of the New Zealand fauna. The morphology of Laetesia raveni n. sp. suggests that it is congeneric with L. mollita , the type species. We hypothesize here two potential synapomorphies of Laetesia : the distally forked distal suprategular apophysis and the long, straight and narrow embolic membrane, both traits being shared by all the Laetesia species illustrated by van Helsdingen (1972) and Millidge (1988) . Other distinctive characters of Laetesia may be symplesiomorphic, e.g., the presence of two latero-ventral scapes or processes in Laetesia species is also shared by several Dunedinia species (e.g., D. denticulata Millidge 1988 : fig. 203). The membranous and apically pointed tegular process of some Laetesia species (e.g., Laetesia raveni n. sp. , Fig. 3 A, left pointing arrow; L. aucklandensis (Forster) , Millidge 1988 : fig. 146) is also found in some Laperousea (e.g., Laperousea cupidinea (Simon) , van Helsdingen 1972 : fig. 5) and Diploplecta species (e.g., D. communis Millidge 1988 : fig. 221).