Bioacoustics of Tawhai

DESCRIPTION: Female total length 8.4. Cephalothorax length 3.6, width 2.7. Carapace glabrous, pale yellow with dark-brown markings over the fovea, extending to the dorsal surface of the ocular area and two patches over the chelicerae (fig. 51A). Ocular area dark brown, fovea longitudinal. Clypeus height 0.4 AME diameter. Eyes subequal in size. Chelicerae dark brown, glabrous cuticle smooth (fig. 51G). Three prolateral, two retromarginal teeth, and ca. two denticles between margins. Endites brown, internal margins pale-yellow, longer than wide. Labium rectangular, wider than long, same color as the endites. Sternum pale yellow, trapezoidal, wider between the first two legs (fig. 51E). Abdomen dorsum with scattered guanine white patches intercalated with dark-brown transverse bands against a light-brown background (fig. 51A); lateral surface with intercalated diffused brown stripes and white guanine patches (fig. 51C); ventral surface light brown with scattered guanine patches flanked by dark-brown irregular lines (fig. 51E). Booklung covers without stridulatory organs. Spinnerets brown, lighter pattern on internal surfaces. Ultrastructure of abdomen, tracheae and spinnerets observed with SEM. Abdomen cuticle flat reticulated, all tracheae not ramified, median tracheae tip leaf shaped. ALS one major ampullate, one nubbin, ca. 80 piriform, tartipores present. PMS one minor ampullate, one nubbin, and one cylindrical and three central aciniform. PLS aggregate and flagelliform spigot tips clustered together, ca. 18 aciniform spigots distributed in two parallel rows, two cylindrical gland spigots at periphery (fig. 51B). Leg formula 1-2-4-3, Femur I length 4.9. Background of legs yellow on the basal segments, becoming dark brown toward the apex, basal segments decorated with dark-brown annuli. All femora without trichobothria. Macrosetae few and present on all segments except metatarsi and tarsi. Spermathecae heavily sclerotized, covered with small sclerotized globular clusters with accessory gland ducts (figs. 51H, 53C, D, 54F). Copulatory ducts reduced, opening directly into the epigynal plate. Fertilization ducts sclerotized, long, narrow and inside a membranous sac that connects with the uterus externus (figs. 53E, F, 54F). Genital openings on the median posterior surface, median plate membranous (fig. 54E). Male same as female except as noted. Total length 8.2. Cephalothorax length 4.4, width 3.2. Clypeus height 0.6 AME diameter. Chelicerae longer than female (fig. 51G, I), distal part with three promarginal, two retromarginal teeth and one denticle between margins. Femur I length 8.9. Male pedipalpal tibia three times as long as wide, apical margin bordered with a cuticlar rim (the male palpal morphology is described in Diagnosis; see figs. 52, 54). COMPOSITION: Monotypic. SYSTEMATICS: Tawhai is sister to Taraire (figs. 61–63), but the placement of the two genera together is unstable. Autapomorphies of Tawhai include the concavity of the ectal cymbial margin (figs. 52D, 54B), bearing macrosetae and the sclerotized globular clusters with accessory gland ducts that cover the spermathecae (figs. 53C, D, 54F).