Species Masasteron mas (Jocqué, 1991)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Masasteron mas Jocqué, R. 1991. A generic revision of the spider family Zodariidae (Araneae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 201: 1-160.

  Type data:

   Holotype AM ♂, New South Wales, Bondi State Forest, S of Bombala, Woodlot [37°08'S, 149°09'E].
  Paratype(s) AM <1f>, <6m>New South Wales: 1f,6m, same data as holotype.

Generic Combinations

• Asteron mas (Jocqué, 1991). —
  Baehr, B.C. 2004. The systematics of a new endemic Australian genus of ant spiders Masasteron (Araneae: Zodariidae). Invertebrate Systematics 18: 661 - 691 [Date published 8 October] [662 - 663 figs 4A,B, 12C,D, 17E]

Introduction

Species of the new genus Masasteron are medium-in size spiders (3.00–7.00 mm body length) and highly uniform in their body shape, with broad oval carapace, chelicerae without teeth, heart-shaped sternum and oval abdomen with a sclerotized tracheal spiracle like all species of the Asteron-complex.

The new genus Masasteron belongs to the large Asteron-complex (Baehr & Jocqué, 1996) and contains 21 species, of which one was already described by Jocqué in 1991. Masasteron is closely related to the more plesiomorphic genus Euasteron and could even be seen as the more derived species-group of this genus. Both groups show a parallel lineage of increasing the size of the AME. Therefore I decided to create the new genus Masasteron with the advanced palp characters as synapomorphies. In the genus Masasteron the two species groups mentioned in Baehr & Jocqué (1996) as Asteron mas-group (Masasteron clifton) and Asteron humphreysi-group (Masasteron tealei) are combined. Masasteron is endemic to Australia.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Distributed along the coastline from South-western Australia to Queensland

Diagnosis

This species resembles M. bennieae and M. queensland in that the AME are smallest and the abdominal pattern consists of two pairs of pale spots centrally and 2–3 in front of the spinnerets, but it can be distinguished by the different shape of the male palp, especially the much longer VtiA.

History of changes