AUSTRALASIAN ARACHNOLOGY Newsletter of the Australasian Arachnological Society No. 87 Summer 2018 $5.00 The web is strong Congress NZ 4 Gone fishing 20 Aussie rocks 26 AUSTRALASIAN ARACHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY Australasian Arachnology 87 The Australasian Newsletter Editorial Contents Arachnological Society Australasian Arachnology ISSN 0811-3696 is notion- Maintaining a society of Australian Arachnologists In this issue we range from Shark Bay Western The aim of the Australasian Arachnological Society ally scheduled to appear three times a year but often and issuing newsletters is no easy task, and all credit Australia to Christchurch New Zealand and meet is to promote interest in the ecology, behaviour and appears at far greater intervals. Previous issues are must go to those key members who stepped up over people from Ernst Haeckel to Sarah Crews. taxonomy of arachnids of the Australasian region. available to members at the society website via their the years to take on admin and newsletter duties. 2019 International Congress of Arachnology login. Back issues are available to non members 12 The Australasian Arachnological Society was New Zealand 10–15 February ............................................................. 4 Website months after publication date. formed in November 1979 by Robert Raven who A Game to Identify and Help Save Life by David Haynes ..... 6 produced the first nine issues of Australasian In 2018 the Society website was refreshed with Contributions Arachnology. Life Down Under by Mike Rix .............................................................. 8 a new design , a membership database and In 1983, while Robert Raven was overseas doing Lobster pots and Spider Baskets by Glenda Walter ................ 12 ecommerce abilities. Australasian Arachnology welcomes contributions from members of the Australasian Arachnological post-doctoral research, Richard Faulder, of Yanco This website replaces the previous version which Australian & NZ Arachnid Photography ................................... 14 Society, sister organisations, other colleagues and Agricultural Institute, became administrator and now redirects to the new website. An archived copy Raven Gets the Gong ........................................................................... 15 interested authors. newsletter editor, producing issues 10-20. of the old website is kept online here. Please send articles to the editors: Robert Whyte In 1985, Robert Raven returned with issues 21-35. Arachnids Rule ........................................................................................ 16 Membership and Helen Smith who both receive emails to Richard continued to print the newsletter. Taking Stock by Robert Whyte .......................................................... 18 [email protected] In January 1989 Robert Raven handed over to Membership is open to all who have an interest Mark Harvey. Newsletters continued to be produced One more Pile of Aussie Rocks by Sarah Crews ........................ 26 in arachnids. Membership fees in Australian Library by Mark with help from Julianne Waldock, until Magnificent Argiope by Graham Winterflood ......................... 33 dollars (per four issues) is $20. There is no agency, For those members who do not have access to a issue 54 in 1998, when Tracey Churchill, then with A key to open Pandora’s Box of Jumping Spiders pensioner, student or unemployed discount. scientific library, the society has a large number CSIRO in Darwin, took on the editorial position. by Barry Richardson ................................................................................ 38 To join, renew or update your member profile visit of reference books, scientific journals and paper From April 1999 to May 2004, Tracey produced Val Davies: a Tribute in Names ....................................................... 36 www.australasianarachnologicalsociety.org reprints available, either for loan or as photocopies. issues 55-69. In June 2004 Volker Framenau took on The website has secure ecommerce facilities. On Next Issue ................................................................................................... 40 The Society Library is located within Queensland the editorial role and was instrumental in getting the rare occasions cheques may be able to be processed. Museum, Southbank, Brisbane. For all enquiries society website up and running in August 2005. Membership is managed by our administrator: concerning publications please contact Librarian: In September 2009, Michael Rix took over as Robert Whyte [email protected] newsletter editor and in May 2012 Cor Vink became Jean-Claude Herremans [email protected]. Below, one of many atypical putative Opisthoncus Australasian Arachnological Society webmaster. spp. from the Daintree causing problems for the This issue of Australian Arachnology (Number development of a key to the genera of Jumping 87) features a new look, being the first for the new Spiders of Australia. Story page 38. GREG ANDERSON editorial team (Robert Whyte, co-author of A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia and Helen Smith, Australian Museum). We hope you like it. As always we encourage our audience to partic- ipate in developing content for the newsletter and welcome contributions for all quarters. Above and right, Argiope mascordi from Castle Rock, between Dimbula and Chillago, For more on the magnificent Argiopinae, see story on page 12. Cover: A new species of Desognaphosa (Trochanteriidae) collected by the spider team Carlo Robert Whyte Helen Smith Point at the Cooloola Cooloola Bio Blitz 26 Aug 2108. Desognaphosa as a genus prior to its assignment Thursday, December 6, 2018 to Trochanteriidae was stored in a jar with notes suggesting it appeared to have characteristic similar to two families, Desidae and Trochanteriidae, hence the name. ROBERT WHYTE 2 3 AUSTRALASIAN ARACHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY Australasian Arachnology 87 Symposia Workshops XXI International Congress of Arachnology Growth, morphogenesis and developmental genetics Spider trait network: opportunities for a global New Zealand 10–15 February 2019 Organiser: Prashant P. Sharma collaboration to address broad scale ecological and Arachnid venoms Organiser: Greta Binford evolutionary questions arly bird registration has closed, accommoda- Plenary Speakers Arachnological outreach for community engage- Organisers: Lizzy Lowe [email protected] & Jonas Wolff [email protected] tion is being booked as we speak, and all the Eileen Hebets University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA ment, conservation and research Organisers: Maria Albo and Lizzy Lowe 10 February 2019 10am - 3pm abstracts for plenary and regular talks have Sensory Systems, Learning, and Communication - Ebeen received. The 21st International Congress of Island Arachnids biogeography Organisers: Sarah Workshop aims: provide information on comparative Insights from Amblypygids to Humans Arachnology is well underway. Boyer, Rosemary Gillespie, Julien Pétillon and Kaïna analyses and the potential of big data analysis to answer Registration is open at https://arachnology. Martín J. Ramírez Museo Argentino de Ciencias Privet ecological and evolutionary questions, present ideas org/21st-ica-2019.html with the following options Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Buenos Aires, The breadth of sexual strategies and reproductive for collaborative projects using trait data, and form in $NZ: Argentina Spider phylogenetics and evolution - morphology in arachnids – This is just the beginning! working groups to address these questions, discuss beyond the trees Organisers: Anita Aisenberg and Michael Kasumovic possibilities for a centralized data repository to facilitate • for ISA members $520 full, or $400 future meta-analyses. students-retirees. Prashant Sharma University of Wisconsin- Jumping spiders: behaviour, ecology and evolution Speakers will give: a 10 min talk on a research project • For non ISA members $570 full, or $450 Madison, USA The evo-devo spyglass: a promised Organisers: Daiqin Li and Elizabeth Jakob that included collection or meta-analysis of functional students-retirees. renaissance for morphology in an era of genomes and Outstanding Opiliones: Reproductive and popula- data across spider species; a 20 min primer on biosta- • $320 for accompanying adults, $260 for functional toolkits tion-level biology in harvestmen Organiser: Mercedes tistical methods or data curation; a pitch (5 min) for a Burns children five years of age and older, children Klaus Birkhofer Brandenburg University of potential project to use collated trait data. The pitch will be used to recruit interested collaborators and identify under five free. Technology, Cottbus, Germany Spider communities Mygalomorph spiders – evolution and conservation possibilities of data sharing to enhance impact and Registration includes: the conference program, in agricultural landscapes – response patterns and Organisers: Mark Harvey, Joel Huey, Mike Rix & Jeremy Wilson robustness. coffee, tea breaks, mid-Congress excursion, consequences for predation service congress dinner and other social events (including the welcome reception, poster session and the infamous Russian party). Congress 2019 Schedule and Program Congress 2019 activities will be split between two venues: Christchurch Central City YMCA Sunday 10 February registration, welcome party, Post congress excursion This will be a three day trip to and Lincoln University. Plenary talks will be held workshop the West Coast of the South Island. Please register