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Newsletterof

NewsletteroftheAustralasianArachnologicalSociety Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 2

THE AUSTRALASIAN ARTICLES ARACHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY The newsletter depends on your contributions! We encourage articles on a We aim to promote interest in the range of topics including current research ecology, behaviour and of activities, student projects, upcoming of the Australasian region. events or behavioural observations.

MEMBERSHIP Please send articles to the editor:

Membership is open to amateurs, Volker Framenau students and professionals, and is Department of Terrestrial Invertebrates managed by our Administrator: Western Australian Museum Locked Bag 49 Richard J. Faulder Welshpool, W.A. 6986, . Agricultural Institute Yanco, 2703 [email protected] Australia Format: i) typed or legibly printed on A4 email: [email protected] paper or ii) as text or MS Word file on CD, 3½ floppy disk, or via email. Membership fees in Australian dollars (per 4 issues): LIBRARY

The AAS has a large number of *discount personal institutional reference books, scientific journals and Australia $8 $10 $12 papers available for loan or as NZ / Asia $10 $12 $14 photocopies, for those members who do elsewhere $12 $14 $16 not have access to a scientific library. There is no agency discount. Professional members are encouraged to All postage is by airmail. send in their arachnological reprints. *Discount rates apply to unemployed, pensioners and students (please provide proof of status). Contact our librarian:

Cheques are payable in Australian Jean-Claude Herremans dollars to “Australasian Arachnological PO Box 291 Society”. Any number of issues can be paid Manly, New South Wales 1655. for in advance. Receipts issued on request. Australia Members will receive a PDF-version of email: [email protected] Australasian Arachnology (hardcopies for long-standing individual members, libraries and societies in exchange). Members will COVER ILLUSTRATION: be notified by mail and email when their Female granulosa from Western subscription has expired. Australia. By Volker Framenau Previous issues of the newsletter are available at www.australasian- arachnology.org/newsletter/issues. Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 3

EDITORIAL On behalf of the Australasian Arachnological Society I would like to congratulate Sydney and Helen for No, you have not missed an issue! I admit, completing their Ph.D.s. Helen’s thesis it’s been a while! So far, I have managed to titled “The systematics and biology of the edit one issue of Australasian Arachnology Poltys (Araneae: Araneidae) in in April, August and December each year Australasia” is available online at: since I started my editorial duties in 2004. This current issue was due in August 2007 http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2058 and I apologize for its delay. Please consider sending me articles and photographs for the next issue, otherwise it might be a while again until Australasian Arachnology 79 will come out. All the best for 2008, Cheers, Volker

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MEMBERSHIP

UPDATES Male of ‘Araneus’ senicaudatus Simon, 1908 from Perth. New Members

Attending the 17th International Congress of Jackie Manning Arachnology in São Pedro/ in August Park Ave and the Combined Invertebrate Biodiversity Walpole, WA 6398 and Conservation Conference/Society of [email protected] Australian Systematic Biologist Meeting in Brisbane in December (the latter with a symposium on “ as Bioindicators” organized by Barbara Baehr) in Change of Address combination with a lack of articles I was not able to keep up the regular turn-around for Judy Grimshaw Australasian Arachnology. Luckily I PO Box 1356 received conference reports for the two Toowong, Qld 4066 above meetings. Thanks to Anna Cutler for a report on the Brazil meeting and Helen Smith for a report on the Canberra conference. In addition, you will find an Lisa Joy Boutin is currently completing update on Helen’s 3-year hadrotarsine her studies on Australian and New project and a thesis abstract of Sydney Caledonian Clubiona. She is looking for Jordan’s Ph.D. thesis on burrowing some employment in the area of behaviour in mygalomorph spiders. arachnology. Please contact her if you have some work for her: [email protected] Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 4

Preliminary Report on the elusive, with the morphological (Agnarsson 2004) and molecular (Arnedo Australian Hadrotarsinae et al. 2004) studies in disagreement. A Project (Araneae: ) wider representative sample of taxa is and a Call for Specimens needed to resolve this issue, but progress has been hampered because the by Helen Smith, Australian Museum, subfamily is currently in taxonomic chaos. Sydney, [email protected] The situation in Australia exemplifies this problem: only 15 are described In June 2007 I (Helen Smith, Australian (Platnick 2008) and these are almost Museum) and joint investigators Ingi invariably misplaced generically. Agnarsson (University of Akron), Greg The aims of his project are to develop Anderson (Queensland Institute of a generic classification of the non Medical Research), and Mark Harvey reniform-eyed hadrotarsines (Mark Harvey (Western Australian Museum), began a 3 and Julianne Waldock have a generic year, ABRS-funded project working on the revision of the Hadrotarsini already in theridiid subfamily Hadrotarsinae. progress), and to produce a molecular This subfamily, which was previously and morphological map of the entire considered a family in its own right, is a subfamily in an attempt to elucidate the diverse, yet largely unknown group within position of the hadrotarsines within the the family Theridiidae. Hadrotarsine family Theridiidae. Of course we will also genera are currently divided into two treat some key genera at the specific tribes: the Euryopini includes genera such level, feeding information into national as , Euryopis and information schemes such as the ABRS (Trigonobothrys) whilst the Hadrotarsini Australian Faunal Directory. includes those genera with kidney-shaped The project started a little slowly, posterior median eyes, such as requiring me to get set up and learn a Hadrotarsus. variety of new tools (still ongoing). But Hadrotarsines, especially those with now the initial sort through of the first hard scuta, are commonly found in litter batch of specimens housed at the and regularly turn up in pitfall traps. Australian Museum in Sydney is almost However, some taxa are primarily found complete and nine groupings (which may on tree trunks and amongst foliage, and or may not prove to be discrete genera) one small group (probably representing a have been identified amongst the good genus) is exclusively represented Euryopini. I will soon be traveling to other from sweeping samples. It is likely that all Australian museums to work through their hadrotarsine species are myrmeco- collections, and planning fieldwork for phagous, and most have abandoned web- next season to plug the gaps in use. geographic coverage. The subfamily has several distinctive In the meantime we would appreciate autapomorphies that may prove to be of any specimens from Australasian evolutionary significance within the Arachnology readers or your students and Araneoidea. So far however, the colleagues. In particular we now need phylogenetic placement of hadrotarsines fresh specimens (alive would be best) for within the family Theridiidae has proved DNA work. If you think you can help Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 5 please contact me to discuss the best way CONFERENCE REVIEW to get your specimens to us. I will be happy to reimburse postage costs. Helen Smith: Arachnology Section, Australian Museum, 6 College St, Sydney NSW 2010. Ph. 02 9320 6458. Email [email protected], or if you get an “out of office” reply try [email protected].

References Agnarsson I. 2004. Morphological phylogeny of cobweb spiders and their relatives (Araneae, Araneoidea, 17th International Congress of Theridiidae). Zoological Journal of the Arachnology Linnean Society 141, 447–626. São Pedro, Brazil, August 2007 Arnedo, M. A., Coddington, J., Agnarsson, I. & Gillespie, R. G. 2004. From a comb to a tree: by Anna Cutler, University of Melbourne, phylogenetic relationships of the [email protected] comb-footed spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Molecular When I heard that the 2007 International Phylogenetics and Evolution 31, 225– Congress of Arachnology was to be held 245. in Brazil, my first thought was “awesome,” closely followed by, “and where do I sign Platnick, N. I. 2008. The world up?” I am thrilled to report that not only catalog, version 8.5. American did I make it to Brazil; I also had a Museum of Natural History, online at fabulous time. http://research.amnh.org/entomology/s

piders/catalog/index.html Being scheduled near the end of my Ph.D. on spiders in wheat agroecosystems, Brazil was perfectly timed for me to present some of my findings. However, being my first ICA, I had no idea what to expect. Perhaps intimidating experts asking difficult questions after a terrifying oral presentation? Or being lost in a sea of brilliant scientists ready to point out anything stupid that slips out of my mouth? Boring talks and bad coffee? Well, be assured I found nothing of the Tetralycosa alteripa (McKay, 1979) from sort… even the coffee was reasonable. salt lakes in . What I actually found was 320 warm and Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 6 welcoming arachnologists from 34 provoking, the real benefit in attending an countries presenting a vast array of ICA conference lies in catching up with interesting arachno-research over 5 days, distant friends and colleagues, meeting 259 posters and 115 talks… new ones, and turning strangers or the faceless authors of your favourite articles The Australian contingency comprised into firm friends in one short week. In of: the WA Museum Gang (I could tell every regard my expectations were blown they were a gang because they were away (or should I say ballooned away?) wearing matching t-shirts) Mark Harvey, by my first International Congress of Volker Framenau, Julianne Waldock, Arachnology, and I’m already looking Erich Volschenk, Mike Rix, Karen forward to Poland 2010 – don’t miss it! Edwards & honorary Brazilian Ricardo Ott; Monica “Trapdoors R US” Russel (WA); Pictures of the conference can be Barbara “Goblin” Baehr & Rob “The found at: Trapdoor” Raven (Qld); Mary “Cavorting in http://picasaweb.google.com/isa17th Cotton” Whitehouse (NSW); Macquarie Uni behaviour trio Aaron “Climbing Ladders” Harmer, Dinesh “Jumping through Hoops” Rao & Anne “Spider ------Assassin” Wignall; and the Elgar Lab Girls Claire “Do I Have to do Fieldwork?” D’Alberto, Leo “I go all the Way to for Fieldwork” Ceballos & Anna “There’s a PH.D. THESIS Spider in My Wheaties” Cutler. ABSTRACT

With so many people to have deep and intellectual debates with (or should I say talk bollocks over “is there a more Burrowing Behaviour in the deadly drink” caiparinha and beer), one Australian action-packed week is barely enough. Of course, one sure-fire way to extend your Sydney Lee Jordan productive time is to stay up really late University of New England (UNE), every night. This proved to be remarkably Armadale, New South Wales. easy, given: copious caiparinhas [email protected] (Brazilian fire-water cocktails) on the first night; a Vodka and caviar-infused Russian party the next night; an energetic Brazilian Supervisors: Mary Notestine (UNE), arachno-band the next night; a dance- Robert Raven (QM), Nigel Andrew (UNE) tastic disco the next night; and an outdoor Brazilian BBQ on the last night. This study provides the most Unfortunately the early morning plenary comprehensive description to date of sessions sometimes fell by the wayside in burrowing behaviour in the Mygalo- exchange for one more hour on the dance morphae. Specimens representing 11 floor. genera from six Australian families (, Cyrtaucheniidae, Idio- In summary, although the talks and pidae, Hexathelidae, Nemesiidae and posters were both interesting and thought- Theraphosidae) were recorded excavating Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 7 burrows. This resulted in 4,884 hours of robertsi and door construction for Euoplos recordings containing 722 hours of variabilis. burrowing activity and 222 hours of useable burrowing sequences. The rastellum is widely reported to play a major role in burrow excavation in Twelve distinct burrowing behaviours mygalomorphs. Video footage obtained were identified and described in detail, from this study suggested this is not the including the first description of Cartwheel case. The fangs followed by the tarsal Silking; all other behaviours have been claws of the pedipalps were the major previously reported in other studies. structures utilised during burrow excavation. The rastellum may play a role Sequences of behaviour were in behaviours used to compact the soil of constructed to illustrate how individual the burrow wall. behaviours were combined to excavate a burrow. These sequences were then Many spiders were maintained for compared in order to discover whether lengthy periods which permitted patterns of behaviour existed for any observations of burrow structure and group (species, genus or family). No burrow use under laboratory conditions. patterns were found and even The results presented here are for those conspecifics were not observed to use the spiders collected in the field (where same sequences. The results of this study burrow structure was observed) or where suggest that an individual spider is able to specimens were identified to genus or vary the sequence of behaviours utilised species, allowing comparisons to the during burrow excavation, indicating available literature. Both similarities and plasticity in burrowing behaviour. differences are described, again indicating the flexibility or adaptive nature of behaviours involved in burrow excavation and use.

The results of a cladistic analysis indicate that behavioural characters related to burrow excavation are not useful in phylogenetic reconstruction for establishing relationships within the Mygalomorphae.

Figure: Raking behaviour showing the fang cutting into the soil. The rastellar surface makes no contact with the soil during the raking motion.

Descriptions are also provided for aerial tube construction in Misgolas Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 8

session, with most of the rest of the day CONFERENCE REVIEW taken up with a series of presentations in the symposium (including an entertaining disagreement on the interpretation of some recent geological data). By the lunchtime break most of the posters had arrived; the only one focusing on arachnids introduced the BugWise Combined Invertebrate Web2Spider guide (Helen Smith et al). Biodiversity and Tuesday morning produced a wide Conservation variety of parasitology topics, finishing with talks on the habits and diversity of Conference/Society of Parobia leaf beetle mites (Owen Australian Systematic Seeman), and a phylogeny of laelapid Biologists Meeting mites (Matthew Shaw). The afternoon canvassed mitochondria and chloroplasts Brisbane, December 2007 and included a single talk on barcoding oribatid mites (Maria Minor) [an admission, I missed this talk – sorry by Helen Smith, Australian Museum, Maria!]. Sydney, [email protected] Jumping to Thursday, the symposium The week was kicked off in style on topic was “Systematics of Australian Sunday evening with a welcoming Invertebrates: think globally act locally”. reception in the foyer of the Queensland After an introductory plenary from Museum. After an hour or two of frantically Cameron Slatyer on the future of ABRS, trying to “catch up” with long-lost friends the morning included a number of and acquaintances, interspersed with presentations about some of the nibbles, drinks and speeches, the internationally funded projects that participants meandered homewards or encompass Australian faunas and an were taken to their accommodation for the update on the progress of spider week. As part of the spider contingent, I systematics in Australia (Robert Raven). was honoured to be invited to stay with Unfortunately, on this very day that it Barbara Baehr and Robert Raven, along would have been good to run over time with Rosemary Gillespie, Volker into lunch and have a robust discussion Framenau and Matthew Bulbert (an about some big issues, the lecture theatre honorary arachnologist for the week). was booked by another group at lunchtime, so there was no time for group Weekday sessions all started at discourse. Thursday afternoon focused on 8.30am, which sometimes proved a bit of the effect of fire on invertebrates, a challenge for those of us not at our best including soil mite assemblages in the in the mornings. The conference opened Northern Territory (Stephen Beyer) and with a welcome from Robert Raven and finished with a general session. On an opening plenary on spatial distribution Thursday evening we all gathered for the of tropical insects by Nigel Stork. The conference dinner at a swish venue on morning session on Monday was the the South Bank. We happily talked, ate rainforest symposium and a general and drank the night away in typical Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 9 conference style, and some progressed the development of a community friendly (or maybe regressed would be more apt) monitoring tool that uses spider web on to other venues to continue the fun. diversity as a surrogate for spider diversity (Matthew Bulbert). After lunch the On Friday morning there were a few invertebrate salvage symposium included early departures (and possibly a few a talk on how the Western Australian conference dinner casualties), but most Environmental Impact Assessment were able to enjoy the marine process has helped provide habitat megadiversity symposium, including a talk information on an endangered trapdoor on a molecular phylogeny of the spider (Jarrad Clark). Official sessions for Pycnogonida (Claudia Arango) before the the day finished with Invasive species and closing valediction, a final lunch, and general topics. After the official sessions, departure. participants gathered again for drinks, You may notice I missed Wednesday, nibblies and the Digital Image and that is because I am saving it for Competition, organised by Barbara Baehr special mention, as it was The Big Day as (with help from daughter Johanna). far as I was concerned. Wednesday Judging was by the volume of applause, morning started with our spider and responses ranged from a few polite symposium: “Spiders as Bioindicators”. claps to enthusiastic cheers and great Rosemary Gillespie started the ball rolling acclaim. The deserving winners received with a fascinating insight into speciation prizes of certificates, some of Barbara’s on remote Pacific islands. Focusing prints of her lovely spider paintings, and especially on Tetragnatha on the bottles of wine. Hawaiian Islands, we learned that the Overall it was a great week. The independent evolution of similar morphs attendance was lower than in 2005, at recurred as each new island became least partly due to the Ecological Society colonised. There is an excellent fit of the of Australia meeting being held in Perth colonisation and speciation data to during the preceding week. I for once evolutionary models. Rosie’s talk was thought this worked in the conference’s followed by talks on Toxopsoides (Helen favour – with no need for parallel sessions Smith) and updates on major faunal everyone was able to attend all the talks projects on Araneidae (Volker Framenau), they wanted, and there was slightly less and Oonopidae (Barbara Baehr). pressure to keep slavishly to a tight Behaviour and foraging in the Argyrodinae schedule. At many conferences the group (Mary Whitehouse), weather and the tends to split at lunchtime, when people activity of Nephila species (Liu Shi Yang) disperse to different food outlets. But here and funnel web spider biogeography lunch was provided each day in the room (Amber Beavis) completed the spider where posters were displayed and this symposium. After lunch there followed the kept people together, reading and talking, survival in suburbia/conservation which I thought was a nice touch. A good symposium, where there were two further diversity of people were able to attend spider-related talks. We saw video and there was no shortage of footage of the advancing wave of opportunities for talking, or just listening in arachnids coming in response to the on the edges of many and varied sturdy thump of a running diesel engine interesting discussions. Many thanks are (the legendary “vibration method”) (Robert due to the organising committee of Raven and David Hirst), and learnt about Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 10

Christine Lambkin, Robert Raven and Boyer, S. L. and Giribet, G. 2007. A new Peter Davie, to Sally Brown Conference model Gondwanan taxon: systematics Connections, and to all the other people and biogeography of the harvestman who contributed towards a great event. family Pettalidae (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi), with a taxonomic revision of genera from ------Australia and . Cladistics 23, 337-361.

Recent Australasian Clouse, R. M and Giribet, G. 2007. Across Lydekker's Line – first report of Arachnological mite harvestmen (Opiliones: Publications Cyphophthalmi: Stylocellidae) from New Guinea. Invertebrate Systematics This column aims to collate 21, 207-227. arachnological publications that were Framenau, V.W. 2007. Erratum to: issued (but not yet those ‘in press’) since Framenau, V. W. 2006: The wolf the last volume of Australasian spider genus Venatrix: new species, Arachnology. These include: synonymies and generic transfers

(Araneae, Lycosidae). Records of the Ø papers on Australasian arachnology and Western Australian Museum 23: 417. Ø papers written by Australasian Framenau, V.W. and Baehr, B.C. 2007. arachnologists (including non- Revision of the Australian arachnid papers). genus Dingosa (Araneae, Lycosidae). Journal of Natural History 41, 1603- I am particularly interested in listing 1629. entries of publications that are not easily traceable through the common library Halliday, R. B. and Lindquist, E. E. search engines, including theses and 2007. Nomenclatural notes on the abstracts of theses. Please send me names Gaeolaelaps and Geolaelaps information on your latest publications for (Acari: Laelapidae). Zootaxa 1621, 65- the next issue. 67. Harvey, M. S. and Volschenk, E. S. Arango, C. P. and Krapp, F. 2007. A new 2007. Systematics of the Gondwanan species of Anoplodactylus family Hyidae (Pseudoscorpiones: ): (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) from the new data and a revised phylogenetic Great Barrier Reef and discussion on hypothesis. Invertebrate Systematics the A. tenuicorpus-complex. Zootaxa 21, 365-406. 1435, 19-24. Harvey, M. S., Austin, A. D. and Adams, Arango, C. P. and Wheeler, W. C. 2007. Phylogeny of the sea spiders M. 2007. The systematics and biology (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) based on of the spider genus Nephila (Araneae: direct optimization of six loci and Nephilidae) in the Australasian region. morphology. Cladistics 23, 255–293. Invertebrate Systematics 21, 407-451. Australasian Arachnology No. 78 Page 11

Harvey, M. S., Waldock, J., Teale, R. J. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20, and Webber, J. 2007. New 2427-2439. distribution records of the intertidal pseudoscorpion Parahya submersa Smit, H. 2008. Australian Unionicola (Pseudoscorpiones: Parahyidae), (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Unionicolidae), Records of the Western Australian with the description of two new subgenera and eight new species. Museum 23, 393-395. Zootaxa 1674, 1-26. Harvey, M.S. 2007. The smaller arachnid Whitehouse M. E .A. and Grimshaw J. orders: diversity, descriptions and 2007. Distinguishing between lynx distributions from Linnaeus to the spiders (Oxyopidae) relevant to IPM in present (1758 to 2007). Zootaxa 1668, Namoi Valley cotton. The Australian 363-380. Entomologist 34, 97-106. Hebets, E. A. and Vink, C. J. 2007. Whitehouse M. E. A., Wilson L. J. and Experience leads to preference: experienced females prefer brush- Constable G. 2007. Target and non- legged males in a population of target effects on the invertebrate syntopic wolf spiders. Behavioral community of Vip cotton, a new Ecology 18, 1010-1020. insecticidal transgenic. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, Hodge, S. and Vink, C. J. 2007. Do 273-285. epigeal spiders show a spatial association with patches of rotting fruit? Newsletter of the British Conference: arachnological Society 109, 7-10. Kasumovic, M. M., Bruce, M. J., The Entomological Society of Southern Herberstein, M. E. and Andrade, M. Africa hosts the C. B. 2007. Risky mate search and mate preference in the golden orb-web XXII International Congress of spider (Nephila plumipes). Behavioural Entomology at the International Ecology 18, 189-195. Convention Centre in Durban, South Sharp, H. E. & Rowell, D. M. 2007. Africa from 6-11 July 2008. Unprecedented chromosomal diversity http://www.ice2008.org.za and behaviour modify linkage patterns and speciation potential: structural heterozygosity in an Australian spider. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20, 2427-2439. Sharp, H. H. and Rowell, D. M. 2007. Unprecedented chromosomal diversity and behaviour modify linkage patterns and speciation processes: structural heterozygosity in an Australian spider.

Australasian Arachnology Issue 78 January 2008

Contents

Editorial………………………………………………………. 3 Membership Updates/ Change of Addresses…………. 3 Feature Article: Preliminary report on the Australian Hadrotarsinae Project (Araneae: Theridiidae) and a call for specimens by Helen Smith……….……………………...……………. 4 Conference Review: 17th International Congress of Arachnology (Brazil) by Anna Cutler………………………….....………………. 5 Thesis Abstract (Ph.D.): Burrrowing behaviour in the Australian Mygalomorphae by Sydney Jordan………………………….....…………... 6 Conference Review: Combined Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation Conference/Society of Australian Systematic Biologists Meeting (Brisbane) by Helen Smith………………………….....………………. 8 Recent Australasian Arachnological Publications………. 10 Conference Announcements……………………………… 11