Gaius (spider)

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Gaius
AustralianMuseum spider specimen 52.JPG
Gaius villosus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Idiopidae
Genus: Gaius
Rainbow, 1914 [1]
Distribution of Gaius species.jpg
Distribution of Gaius species [2]

Gaius is a genus of large mygalomorph spiders in the family Idiopidae. [1] [2] Erected in 1914 by William Joseph Rainbow, [1] [3] for much of its history the genus contained only one species, Gaius villosus . More species were added in 2018. All are endemic to Western Australia.

Contents

Description

Species of Gaius are large spiders, usually dark brown or black. Females have a body length of around 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in), males around 20–35 mm (0.8–1.4 in). The carapace has a dense fringe of hairs (setae) along the sides. The abdomen is oval, densely covered with hairs. Males have pedipalps with a retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA), which in most species is large and long. Females have a pair of simple, widely spaced spermathecae. [2]

Taxonomy

The genus Gaius was erected by William Joseph Rainbow in 1914 for his new species Gaius villosus. [3] In 1957, Barbara York Main transferred G. villosus (then still the only species of Gaius) to the genus Anidiops, noting the inadequacy of many characters used in mygalomorph taxonomy. Main placed the species in the tribe Aganippini, within the family Ctenizidae (as then circumscribed). [4] (Rainbow had used the same placement, although with different ranks. [3] ) By 2017, the Ctenizidae had been split, and the tribe Aganippini was placed in the subfamily Arbanitinae of the family Idiopidae. A major study of the Arbanitinae, including molecular phylogenetic evidence, concluded that Gaius was a distinct genus, although all the other species of Anidiops were placed in the genus Idiosoma . [5] Gaius remained a monotypic genus until 2018, when a further seven species were added. [2]

Phylogeny

Within the tribe Aganippini, Gaius is sister to the genus Eucyrtops : [5]

Subfamily Arbanitinae

Tribe Euoplini ( Euoplos )

Tribe Cataxiini ( Cataxia )

Tribe Arbanitini ( Cantuaria , Blakistonia , Arbanitis )

Tribe Aganippini

Bungulla

Gaius

Eucyrtops

Eucanippe

Idiosoma

Species

As of April 2019, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: [1]

Distribution and habitat

Gaius species are found in a broad region in the south-west of Western Australia. They are most common in mallee woodlands, Acacia (mulga) woodlands and shrublands, and spinifex ( Triodia ) plains, where the soil is clay or hard loam. They construct deep burrows with a flap- or wafer-like door. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idiopidae</span> Family of spiders

Idiopidae, also known as armored trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889. They have a large body similar to tarantulas.

<i>Idiosoma</i> Genus of spiders

Idiosoma is a genus of Australian armoured trapdoor spiders that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the armoured trapdoor spiders in 1985. The name is derived from the Greek ἴδιος, meaning "individual, unique", and σῶμα, meaning "body", referring to the distinctive structure of the abdomen.

<i>Arbanitis</i> Genus of spiders

Arbanitis is a genus of Australian armoured trapdoor spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1874.

Euoplos is a genus of Australian armoured trapdoor spiders that was first described by William Joseph Rainbow in 1914.

<i>Gaius villosus</i> Species of spider

Gaius villosus is a species of spider in the family Idiopidae found in Western Australia in a variety of different habitats.

Eucanippe is a genus of Western Australian armored trapdoor spiders first described by Michael Gordon Rix, Robert J. Raven, Barbara York Main, S. E. Harrison, A. D. Austin, S. J. B. Cooper & Mark Stephen Harvey in 2017.

Bungulla is a genus of Australian armoured trapdoor spiders first described by Michael Gordon Rix, Robert John Raven, Barbara York Main & Mark Stephen Harvey in 2017.

Cryptoforis is a genus of Australian armoured trapdoor spiders. It was first described by J. D. Wilson, Robert Raven and Günter E. W. Schmidt in 2020, and it has only been found in Australia.

Arbanitis andrewsi is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to South Australia.

Arbanitis crispus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to Tasmania.

Arbanitis echo is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.

Arbanitis ornatus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to Queensland.

Arbanitis villosus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales.

Arbanitis hirsutus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.

Arbanitis maculosus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales.

Arbanitis montanus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales.

Arbanitis melancholicus is a species of armoured trap-door spider in the family Idiopidae, and is endemic to New South Wales.

Idiosoma castellum is a trapdoor spider in the Arbanitinae subfamily of the Idiopidae family. It was first described as Aganippe castellum by Barbara York Main in 1986. In 2017 Michael Rix and others transferred it to the genus, Idiosoma, to give the name Idiosoma castellum,.

Idiosoma cupulifex is a trapdoor spider in the Arbanitinae subfamily of the Idiopidae family. It was first described as Aganippe cupulifex by Barbara York Main in 1957. In 2017 Michael Rix and others transferred it to the genus, Idiosoma, to give the name Idiosoma cupulifex,.

Bungulla bertmaini is a species of mygalomorph spider in the Idiopidae family. It is endemic to Australia. It was described in 2017 by Australian arachnologists Michael Rix, Barbara York Main, Robert Raven and Mark Harvey.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gen. Gaius Rainbow, 1914", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2019-04-17
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rix, M.G.; Raven, R.J. & Harvey, M.S. (2018), "Systematics of the giant spiny trapdoor spiders of the genus Gaius Rainbow (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae: Aganippini): documenting an iconic lineage of the Western Australian inland arid zone", Journal of Arachnology, 46 (3): 438–472, doi:10.1636/JoA-S-17-079.1, S2CID   92538085
  3. 1 2 3 Rainbow, W.J. (1914), "Studies in the Australian Araneidae. No. 6. The Terretelariae" (PDF), Records of the Australian Museum, 10: 187–270, doi: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.10.1914.901
  4. ↑ Main, B.Y. (1957), "Biology of aganippine trapdoor spiders (Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae)", Australian Journal of Zoology, 5 (4): 402–473, doi:10.1071/zo9570402
  5. 1 2 Rix, M.G.; Raven, R.J.; Main, B.Y.; Harrison, S.E.; Austin, A.D.; Cooper, S.J.B. & Harvey, M.S. (2017), "The Australasian spiny trapdoor spiders of the family Idiopidae (Mygalomorphae: Arbanitinae): a relimitation and revision at the generic level", Invertebrate Systematics, 31 (5): 566–634, doi:10.1071/IS16065, S2CID   90787136


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