Megadolomedes trux
| Megadolomedes trux | |
|---|---|
| Female from Queensland, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Dolomedidae |
| Genus: | Megadolomedes |
| Species: | M. trux
|
| Binomial name | |
| Megadolomedes trux (Lamb, 1911)[1]
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Megadolomedes trux is a species of spider endemic to Australia in the family Dolomedidae.
Taxonomy
Dolomedes trux was first described by J. Lamb in 1911 from a female type specimen collected at Ithaca Creek, Brisbane.[2] A 1980 revision of the Dolomedes australianus species group by Valerie Todd Davies and Robert J. Raven concluded that D. trux was conspecific with D. australianus and synonymised the two under the name Megadolomedes australianus, however, a 2018 review of the family Pisauridae by Raven and Wendy Hebron would restore D. trux to species status, placing it in the genus Megadolomedes as Megadolomodes trux.[3] The type specimen is now housed in the collection of the Queensland Museum.[1]
Description
Like many spiders, M. trux displays strong sexual size dimorphism. Females have a total body length of around 30 mm (1.2 in), while the total body length of males is around 7.6 mm (0.30 in). It is one of Australia's largest spiders. They have a brown, earth-coloured abdomen and long, pseudosegmented tarsi.[3] The species superficially resembles the American genus Trechalea.[4]
Distribution
M. trux is found east of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales and Queensland. Their distribution ranges from Gordon in the south to Cooktown in the north.[3]
Behaviour
In its original description, this species was recorded preying on an adult tree frog.[2] M. trux hunts from beneath rocks and logs on the edges of slow-moving waterways, where they wait for prey to pass by with their front legs outstretched. The long, sensitive trichobothria on the front legs of this species allow them to detect vibrations in the water from small fish and frogs. Upon detecting a suitable prey item in this manner, the spider dives into the water to subdue it, remaining in the substrate for up to 30 minutes.[3]
Like other species in Dolomedidae, females carry eggsacs in their chelicerae.
References
- ^ a b c World Spider Catalog. "Megadolomedes trux (Lamb, 1911)". World Spider Catalog. Version 25.5. Bern, Switzerland: Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ a b Lamb, J. (1911). Hamlyn-Harris, R. (ed.). "Descriptions of some new Queensland Araneidae". Annals of the Queensland Museum. 10: 169–174.
- ^ a b c d Raven, R. J.; Hebron, W. (2018). "A review of the Water spider family Pisauridae in Australia and New Caledonia with descriptions of four new genera and 23 new species". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 60: 233–381. doi:10.17082/j.2204-1478.60.2018.2017-06. ISSN 0079-8835. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ Davies, V. T.; Raven, R. J. (1980). "Megadolomedes nov. gen. (Araneae: Pisauridae) with a description of the male of the type-species, Dolomedes australianus Koch 1865". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 20: 135–141. Retrieved 13 January 2025 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.