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| Euoplos dignitas Rix, Wilson & Oliver, 2023 DOI: 10.1636/JoA-S-21-056 |
Abstract
A new species of giant trapdoor spider, Euoplos dignitas sp. nov. (family Idiopidae), is described from the Brigalow Belt of inland Queensland, Australia. Phylogenetic analysis of a six gene molecular dataset for the tribe Euoplini reveals that this species is sister to the spinnipes-group from eastern Queensland, and unrelated to a morphologically similar congener (E. grandis Wilson & Rix, 2019) that occurs further south in the Brigalow Belt. Both E. dignitas sp. nov. and E. grandis are very large, scopulate, plug door-building trapdoor spiders from transitional woodland habitats on vertosols (‘black soils’), with superficially similar females and strongly sexually-dimorphic ‘honey-red’ males. Information on the known biology and distribution of E. dignitas sp. nov. is summarized, and a conservation assessment is provided under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List Criteria, indicating that this species is likely Endangered.
KEYWORDS: Avicularioidea, biogeography, Bipectina, Domiothelina, phylogeny, taxonomy
Michael G. Rix, Jeremy D. Wilson and Paul M. Oliver. 2023. A New Species of Endangered Giant Trapdoor Spider (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae: Euoplos) from the Brigalow Belt of inland Queensland, Australia. The Journal of Arachnology. 51(1); 27-36. DOI: 10.1636/JoA-S-21-056
