Genus Bertmainius Harvey, Main, Rix & Cooper, 2015

Museums

Regional Maps

• Bertmainius Harvey, M.S., Main, B.Y, Rix, M.G. & Cooper, S.J. 2015. Refugia within refugia: in situ speciation and conservation of threatened Bertmainius (Araneae : Migidae), a new genus of relictual trapdoor spiders endemic to the mesic zone of south-western Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 29: 511-553 [517].

  Type species:

   Moggridgea tingle Main, 1991 by original designation.

Introduction

A revision of Moggridgea (Araneae : Migidae) based on both molecular and morphological criteria, conducted by Harvey et al. (2015), concluded that the Western Australian taxa should be removed from Moggridgea and transferred to the new genus, Bertmainius. The seven species were delimited using both morphological and molecular criteria: B. tingle (Main) (the type species), and six new species, B. colonus, B. monachus, B. mysticus, B. opimus, B. pandus and B. tumidus. All seven species are considered to be threatened using IUCN criteria, with the major threatening processes being inappropriate fire regimes and climate change.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Esperance Plains (ESP), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mallee (MAL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

General References

Bond, J.E., Hendixson, B.E., Hamilton, C.A., & Hedin, M. 2012. A reconsideration of the classification of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Arachnida: Araneae) based on three nuclear genes and morphology. PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science) 7(6): pp.11

Cooper, S.J.B., Harvey, M.S., Saint, K.M. & Main, B.Y. 2011. Deep phylogeographic structuring of populations of the trapdoor spider Moggridgea tingle (Migidae) from southwestern Australia: evidence for long-term refugia within refugia. Molecular Ecology 20: 3219-3236

Harvey, M.S., Main, B.Y, Rix, M.G. & Cooper, S.J. 2015. Refugia within refugia: in situ speciation and conservation of threatened Bertmainius (Araneae : Migidae), a new genus of relictual trapdoor spiders endemic to the mesic zone of south-western Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 29: 511-553

Main, B.Y. 1991. Occurrence of the trapdoor spider genus Moggridgea in Australia with descriptions of two new species (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Migidae). Journal of Natural History 25: 383-397

History of changes