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Occurrence of the trapdoor spidergenus Moggridgea in Australia withdescriptions of two new species(Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Migidae)Barbara York Main aa Zoology Department , University of Western Australia ,Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009Published online: 13 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Barbara York Main (1991) Occurrence of the trapdoor spider genus Moggridgeain Australia with descriptions of two new species (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Migidae), Journal ofNatural History, 25:2, 383-397, DOI: 10.1080/00222939100770271

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JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 1991, 25, 3 8 3 - 3 9 7

Occurrence of the trapdoor spider genus Moggridgea in Australia with descriptions of two new species (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Migidae)

BARBARA YORK MAIN

Zoology Department, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009

The occurrence of the trapdoor spider genus Moggridgea (Migidae) in Australia is reported, and two new species described: M. tingle n. sp. from southwest Western Australia and M. australis n. sp. from Kangaroo Island, South Australia. This is the first record of the subfamily Paramiginae from Australia. The historical biogeo- graphic implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS: Mygalomorphae, Migidae, Moggridgea, Araneae, biogeography, Australia.

Introduction The mygalomorph families Migidae and Actinopodidae (superfamily Migoidea)

are classic Gondwanan families. Their biogeographic significance was recognized early by Pocock (1903), and the Migidae in particular were discussed further by Zapfe (1961), Schiapelli and Gershman de Pikelin (1973), Legendre (1979), Main ( 1981 a, b), Platnick (1981) and Raven (1984). The Actinopodidae have a strongly continental distribution with the genus Missulena Walckenaer in Australia (and a doubtful record from New Guinea (Rainbow, 1920)) and two genera A ctinopus Perty and Plesiolena Goloboff and Platnick in South America (Goloboffand Platnick, 1987). The Migidae, however, have a more embracing distribution and occur on all three southern continents and Madagascar, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, New Zealand and New Caledonia. By using a generic allocation to the three subfamilies of the Migidae based on Raven (1985) and Goloboff and Platnick (1987), the Miginae have been recorded from all three austral regions, the Calathotarsinae from South America and Australia including Tasmania and the Paramigniae only from Africa and Madagascar (see Table 1). Only two migid genera have formerly been known from Australia: Migas Koch (Miginae) and Heteromigas Hogg (Calathotarsinae). Migas is the most widely distributed of all migid genera and occurs in Chile, eastern Australia, Tasmania and Norfolk Island, New Zealand and New Caledonia (Zapfe, 1961; Raven, 1984; Goloboffand Platnick, 1987). On present evidence, however, Heteromigas seems to be confined to eastern Australia and Tasmania (Raven, 1984; Goloboff and Platnick, 1987).

This paper provides the first record of the subfamily Paramiginae from Australia and describes two new species in the genus Moggridgea O. P. Cambridge, one from Kangaroo Island, South Australia and one from the Walpole/Nornalup region of southern Western Australia. The occurrence of the subfamily in Australia is of biogeographic significance since it means that the Australian continental landmass is the only austral region where all three subfamilies of Migidae occur (Table 1).

0022-2933/91 $5-00 © 1991 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

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384 B.Y. Main

Table 1. Genera and subfamilies of Migidae (as currently recognized (Raven, 1985; Griswold, 1987; Goloboff and Platnick, 1987)) and their broad geographic distribution.

Africa Australia/Western Pacific South America:

Subfamily/genera Africa Madagascar W. Aust. E. Aust. Tas. NI NZ NC Chile

Miginae M i g a s - - -

P o e c i l o m i g a s + -

Paramiginae M i c r o m e s o m m a - +

M o g g r i d g e a + --

P a r a m i g a s - - +

T h y r o p o e u s - +

Calathotarsini Absent C a l a t h o t a r s u s - -

H e t e r o m i g a s - -

M a l l e c o m i g a s - - - -

w

m

+t

m

m

D

+ + +

m

B

_ _ m

+ + +

Absent Absent

+ + - _ _ . . . . . J r -

t Southwest Western Australia and Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The Miginae is the only subfamily represented in all three Gondwanan regions. Australia is the only region

in which all three subfamilies are represented. NI=Norfolk Island; NZ=New Zealand; NC=New Caledonia.

Systematics M o g g r i d g e a O. P. Cambridge

M o g g r i d g e a O. P. Cambridge, 1875, p. 319. Type species by monotypy, M o g g r i d g e a d y e r i O . P.

Cambridge, 1875. Griswold, 1987 (review of the systematics, distribution and biology of the genus).

T a x o n o m i c p o s i t i o n

Presence of a dorsal, proximal, sclerotized depression which may be pronounced or barely perceptible, on the third tibia, places the genus in the subfamily Paramiginae (Raven, 1985).

D i a g n o s i s

(Based on Griswold (1987), who gives a full description of characters.) Distingu- ished from all other migid genera by the presence of groups of erect, lamellate setae which have a small terminal spine, situated ventrally on patellae I, II and IV (Figs 4A, B). [Although Griswold (1987) attributed the first recorded observation of the patellae setae to Hewitt (see Hewitt 1913, p. 465), Cambridge (1875, p. 320) had noted them in his original description of M o g g r i d g e a d y e r i as follows: 'all the legs are furnished with hairs and bristles; of the latter there is a small group or tuft of prominent ones under the femoral joints of each of the first, second and fourth pairs of legs... '.] Carapace usually with distinct lateral pits; fourth metatarsi generally with preening comb; labial cuspules present in female, present or absent in male; group of erect dorsal setae usually present on metatarsi I and II; male lacks copulatory apophyses on legs; bulb of male palp with small basal lobe and large kidney shaped distal lobe; spermathecae paired, unbranched, expanded distally. Burrow with a door; terrestrial or arboreal.

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The trapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 385

Griswold (1987), in his review of Moggridgea, recognized 31 species and stated that the genus was 'known only from Africa and some surrounding islands'. Discovery of the genus in the Australian region requires modification of that statement.

Abbreviations The following abbreviations are used: ALE, AME, PLE, PME, anterior lateral,

anterior median, posterior lateral and posterior median eyes respectively; BYM, Barbara York Main collection (at Zoology Department, University of Western Australia); SAM, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia; WAM, Western Australian Museum.

Mnggridgea tingle n. sp. (Figs 1A-D; 2Aq; 3A K; 4C; 6)

Types HOLOa'VPE female, Valley of the Giants, track near Big Tingle Tree picnic site,

Walpole, Western Australia, nest in tingle tree bark, 14 January 1990, A. R. and B. Y. Main (BYM1990/11) (WAM 90/1111).

PARA~rYPE (ALLOTYPE, male), Walpole/Nornalup National Park, on old unused track behind Big Tingle Tree, forest, Malaise Trap 16 July 1980 (18 June-29 July), S. and B. Peck (SBP 59) (WAM 89/330). Other paratypes: female with eggs, same data as holotype but nest in ground (BYM1990/9), (WAM 90/1112); female, Deep River Crossing on old Manjimup/Walpole Road, Forestry area, burrow on soil bank, 14 January 1990, B. Y. Main (BYM1990/12) (WAM 90/1113). Female, same data as holotype (BYM1990/10). Juvenile?, Rest Point Road at terminal turn-around above cliff slope, burrow in soil, Walpole/Nornalup National Park, 29 December 1989, A. R. and B. Y. Main (BYM1990/8).

Diagnosis Female with numerous sensory setae on patellae (up to about 15 on first leg), pair of

prefoveal bristles on carapace and spermathecae with thick but sinuous (strongly bent) stems with large, mushroom-like terminal dilations.

HOLOTYPE female. Colour dark brown, almost black in life, abdomen mauvish- brown with faint pale speckles but no distinct pattern. Carapace length 3" 1 mm, width 3-0; abdomen length 4-8, width 3.6. Carapace with a few delicate marginal bristles, a pair of prefoveal bristles. Fovea almost straight but strongly reflexed at edges and with slight median groove in posterior depression. Ocular group with a single long anterior median bristle. Length of eye group 0"5 mm, anterior width 1.3, posterior width 1"2. Diameters of eyes: ALE 0-3, AME 0.15, PLE 0.3, PME 0.15. Chelicerae: paturon groove with four and six teeth on inner and outer rows respectively. Maxillae with cuspules scattered over ventral face. Labium length 0-6 mm, width 0.6; with about 14 cuspules. Sternum length 2.1 mm, width 1-9, sigiUa conspicuous. Legs: metatarsus IV with a weak preening comb of seven or eight bristles. Patella I ventrally, with about 15 lamellate setae each with a distinctive terminal spine, patella II with nine setae, IV with only one. Tibia III with small, narrow proximal sclerotised depression (Fig. 2E). Metatarsi I and II with groups of dorsal vertical hairs. Tarsal claws: paired claws with two teeth (one only on left III retrolateral and left IV prolateral), median claw smooth, palp claw with two teeth. Femurs (ventrally): I with some bristles, II with a distinctive band of stout bristles, III with a long trough-like groove, IV with delicate bristles only. Leg spination: no tarsal spines. I: Metatarsus pv 5, rv4 + 1 small spine; tibia pv 6 + 3 small spines, rv 6

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386 B . Y . Main

C D

FIG. 1. Moggridgea tingle n. sp., female holotype: (A) dorsal view; (B) ventral view; (C, D) tubular nest from bark of tingle tree. Scale bars: (A, B) = 1.0 mm; (C, D) = 5-0 mm.

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Table 2.

The trapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 387

Moooridgea tinole, leg measurements of holotype female with paratype (allotype) male in parentheses.

Leg formula (length of leg divided by length of carapace

4 1 2 3

2.8 (3.11) 2-32 (3.29) 2.1 (3.0) 1-9 (2.37)

F P Ti Mt T Total

Palp 2.2 (1.4) 0.9 (0-6) 0-9 (1.2) - - 0.9 (0.6) 4.9 (3.8) Leg I 2-6 (2-8) 1-5 (1.4) 1-5 (2-0) 1-2 (1.9) 0.4 (0.8) 7.2 (8-9) Leg II 2-3 (2.6) 1-4 (1.3) 1-4 (1-7) 1-2 (1.7) 0.4 (0.8) 6-7 (8.1) Leg III 1-9 (1.9) 1-2 (1.1) 1-1 (1-3) 1-1 (1.3) 0.6 (0.8) 5.9 (6.4) Leg IV 2-5 (2.5) 1-6 (1.3) 1.7 (1-9) 2-1 (1-7) 0.9 (1.0) 8.8 (8.4)

F = femur; P = patella; Ti = tibia; M = metatarsus; T = tarsus. Width of patella I at 'knee' =0-6 (0-5); tibial index= 20-0 (14.7). Width of patella IV at 'knee' =0-6 (0-5); tibial index = 18-1 (15-6). The tibial index is the width of patella x 100 divided by the combined length of tibia and

patella (Petrunkevitch, 1942).

+ 1 small spine. II: Metatarsus pv 4, rv 4; tibia pv 5, rv 6. III: Tibia pv 2 fine tapering, rv 2 fine tapering, rd apical cluster of spine-like bristles; patella pv 2 apical. IV: Metatarsus pv 2 and preening comb of about 6 bristles. Palp, tarsus p 3, r 3; tibia p 2, r 2; femur pv 4 apical tapering spines. Trichobothria: palp, 2 on tarsus; 1 proximal on tibia. Leg I, Tarsus 6; metatarsus 3 short apical; tibia, 1 or 2 p and r. II: Tarsus, 9; metatarsus 2 short apical; tibia, 1 or 2 p and r. III: Tarsus 11; metatarsus 4; tibia 2 or 3 p. IV, Tarsus 6; metatarsus 3; tibia 2 or 3 p and r. Internal genitalia: short, strongly bent to sinuous stems about equal thickness throughout and dilated into terminal crowns (Fig. 21).

PARATYP~ (ALLoTYVE) male. Colour in alcohol generally light brown, abdomen dark grey brown. Carapace broad, low, glabrous without hairs and emarginate; length 2-7 mm, width 2-8, caput width about 1.7. Fovea with median extension. Eyes: anterior width 1.0 mm, posterior width 0.9, length 0-4. Diameters of eyes: ALE 0-2, AM E 0.15, PLE 0.15, PME 0.1. Sternum plus labium 2.1 mm long, sternum width 1.4; one pair small sigilla. Labium 1.0 mm long, without cuspules; maxillae also without cuspules, 'heel' with strongly sclerotized margin abutting sternum. Chelicerae strongly genicu- late, 4 teeth on promargin of groove, 5 on retromargin. Legs glabrous, few hairs and bristles. Scopula dense on tarsi and metatarsi IV, tarsi III, distal metatarsi II1, sparse on tarsi I and II. Metatarsi I retrolaterally 'bowed' proximally. Trochanters I and II with slight indentation (scalloping). Spines absent from all tarsi. Leg I: metatarsus pv 1 apical and delicate bristles, rv 1 apical heavy spine, tibia pv 2 heavy spines on slight mounds and one delicate bristle between them, rv 1 megaspine and 4 on slight mounds, tips slightly hooked, patella pv 1, rv 1 (both apical), femur d 1 median. Leg II: metatarsus pv 2 delicate spines, rv 2, tibia pv 2 delicate bristles, rv 3, patella pv 1, femur d 1 median. Leg III: metatarsus rv 1, and apical bristles, tibia apical bristles, patella pd 1. Leg IV: metatarsus pv 2, rv apical small vestigial preening comb of 3 or 4 bristles, tibia pv 1 and bristles, patella pd bristles, femur median dorsal spine. Trichobothria I, II tarsi with about 9 in broad dorsal band, metatarsi 3 or 4 distal; III, tarsi 11, metatarsi 4 distal; IV,

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B

388 B. Y. Main

A

i

c

r ~ ~ p

c

F

D

FIG. 2. Moggridgea tingle n. sp., female holotype: (A) carapace; (B) sternal area and right maxilla; (C) right cheliceral teeth; (D) left leg IV tarsal claws; (E) left patella and tibia III, weak dorsal depression on tibia; (F) left metatarsus IV, apical preening comb; (G) right patella I ventral, sensory setae; (H) right femurs I and II, ventral; (I) spermathecae; (J) tube nest. p=prolateral; r=retrolateral. Scale bars: (A, B) (E)=l.0mm; (G-I)=0-5mm; (J) = 5-0 mm.

tarsi about 5, metatarsi 4 distal. Clavate and reduced in double band on all tibia. Sensory hairs on ventral patellae few and weakly developed, 6/9 (right/left) on patellae I, 5/7 on patellae II, one on IV. Tarsal claws (teeth): I, P1 + 1, R1 + 1, II, P1 + 1?, R1 + 1?, III, P1 + 1 lower minute tooth, R1 + 1 lower minute, IV, P3 (1 large tooth between 2 minute teeth), R1. Palp: completely spineless. Bulb kidney-shaped, divided, embolus very long and needle-like. Cymbium with deep terminal, assymmetrical trilobed, indentation. Abdomen: dark dorsally, pale ventrally. Dorsally with sparse hairs and fine bristles. Spinnerets extruded.

Variation. Carapace length in adult females: 2.6 (BYM 90/8,9) to 3-1 (holotype). Other two paratypes (immature ? and a female): 1-4 and 2.3. The number of sensory setae on patellae also varies, being less than holotype in other specimens.

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The t rapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 389

D

C " '~

,, ( J ! . ~ '/';

K G

FIG. 3. Mo99ridgea tingle n. sp., male paratype (allotype): (A) dorsal view; (B) lateral view carapace; (C) sternal area and left maxilla; (D) eyes; (E, F) right palp, retrolateral and prolateral aspects respectively; (G, H) right leg I, tarsus, metatarsus and tibia, (G) ventral, (H) retrolateral; (I) right tibia II, retrolateral; (J) tarsus, metatarsus of right leg IV, ventral; (K) trochanter I, apical ventral. Scale bars: (A-C), (G-J) = 1-0 mm; (D), (E, F) = 0"5 mm; (K) not to scale.

Natural history The nests were found either in soil (BYM 90/8, 9, 12) or in the fibrous bark of red

tingle trees (Eucalyptusjacksoni Maiden). However, whether they are in the soil or mossy bark they are constructed as silk tubes bound with particles, on the outside of the substratum rather than as burrows which penetrate the soil or bark. Tubes varied up to just over 2 cm long, with the hinge wall of the tube being shorter. In all but one tube the opening faced upslope with the hinge line away from the substratum. None of the tubes contained any rejectamenta. The tubes of the two specimens found in the tingle bark were almost 2 m up the trunk and on the south side where the bark was damp, extremely spongy and covered with patches of moss. All nests were in shaded sites. The

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Table 3. Moggridgea australis, leg measurements of holotype female.

Leg formula (length of leg divided by length of carapace)

4 1 2 3

2.29 1-72 1-72 1'6

F P Ti Mi T Total

Palp 1-9 1-0 1.1 - - 0.8 4-8 ~ g I 2"8 1.8 1.8 1.7 0.6 8.7 LeglI 2.7 1.7 1-8 1.5 0.6 8.3 ~ g l I I 2-2 1.7 1.6 1.5 0-7 7-7 LeglV 3.3 2.1 2-3 2-2 1.1 11-0

Width of patella I at 'knee'= 0.8; tibial index = 22"2. Width of patella IV at 'knee'=0-8; tibial index= 18.1.

area at Deep River had been recently burnt (control burn as part of forestry management) and also had been very severely burnt several years ago, after which the vegetation had not fully recovered. Old charred nests were found in the bank, and it appeared that the population had been almost totally destroyed.

The egg batch in the nest of BYM 90/9 contained about 23 eggs in a glutinous clump, loosely held to the wall by a few stalk-like threads. There was no obvious encasing cocoon. Some eggs were in an advanced stage of development with legs hanging free. Diameters of five eggs (or abdomen of embryo) measured 1.2 mm.

Moggridgea australis n. sp. (Figs 4A,B,D; 5A-L; 6)

Types HOLOTYI'E, female with egg sac, Coastal 'Scenic Walk', American River, Kangaroo

Island, South Australia, 11 November 1987, D. Hirst (SAMA 1990266); paratype female with egg cocoon, same data as holotype (SAMA 1990267); female (SAMA 1990268 with eggs) and 1 juvenile (SAMA 1990269), 'short burrows in damp creek bank above waterfall, Waterfall Creek', Western River Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, S.A., 3 November 1987, D. Hirst; female (SAMA 1990270) same data as holotype.

Diagnosis Females differ from M. tingle by the fewer sensory setae on patellae, no prefoveal

bristles, by a more pronounced proximal, dorsal depression on tibia III, and by the long, almost straight stemmed spermathecae with less dilated 'caps'. Male not known.

HOLOa'VPE, female. Carapace smooth, a few bristles behind eyes and in a line between eyes and fovea. No pre-foveal pair of bristles. Lateral cervical pits. Posterior margin not deeply cleft. Fovea markedly recurred, slight swelling in pit of fovea. Carapace length 4.8 mm, width 4-5. Caput width 3-1. Eyes with a long anterior bristle, group about half the width of the caput, anterior width 1.6, posterior 1.4, length 0-7; diameters: ALE 0-35, AME 0"2, PLE 0-25, PME 0"2. Chelicerae: bristles on inner dorsal angle. Groove with 4 prolateral teeth, 4+ 1 small retrolateral teeth (left); right side irregular possibly regenerated. Labium 0"9 long, with about 10 cuspules. Sternum length

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The trapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 391

FIG. 4. (A, B) (D) Moggridgea australis, female paratype (SAM 1990267); (C) M. tingle, female paratype (WAM 90/1113): (A) left patella IV, sensory hairs; (B) tip of a sensory hair; ((2) right patella and tibia III, weak proximal dorsal depression on tibia; (D) dorsal aspect of left fang showing absence of basal 'tooth'. Scale bars: (A), (C), (D)=0-1 mm; (B)= 10#m.

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392 B.Y. Main

3.0, width 2.5, broadly truncated posteriorly. Sigilla about twice as long as broad, roughly oval. Maxillae rectangular with cuspules broadly distributed. Legs: patellae I, II and IV with ventral sensory, bladelike setae--about 8 on I, 5 on IV. Tibia III with shallow but distinctly sclerotised proximal dorsal depression (Figs. 5 I, J). Preening comb on metatarsus IV. Spines: palp tarsus with a few ventral spines. No spines on tarsi of legs. Femurs of palp, I and II with proventral proximal line of strong bristles (weaker on I); heavy pv apical spine on patella I (absent in some specimens), patella III with a pd distal stout spine. Legs I and II with flattened metatarsi, ventrally with lateral, hooked spines on angular edge. Legs III and IV without spines. Trichobothria: short on legs I and II, long on III and IV. Tarsi with about 10, 8, 12, 8 in irregular band on I, II, III, IV respectively, metatarsi I, II and III with distal group of about 6, 8 and 9, IV with about 7 in irregular line, tibiae with double proximal row of 3 to 5 short trichobothria on each leg. Tarsal claws (teeth): palp claw with single tooth, leg I P1 large + 1 small, R1, II, P1 + 1, R1 + 1, III P1, R1, IV P1 + 1, R1 + 1 (Fig. 5E). Abdomen dark. Spinnerets lack spigots on basal segment. Internal genitalia with pair of long, slightly bent stems, narrower in mid region and each with small cap-like terminal dilation (Fig. 5K; Fig. 5L, paratype (SAMA 1990268)).

Variation. Carapace lengths of the three adult female paratypes measured 4"0, 4"5, 4.8 and 5.4mm.

Natural history All specimens were collected from short burrows in soil banks (D. Hirst, pers.

comm. and as labelled with specimens). The doors were thin, wafer-like and made of silk-bound soil. The eggs of one specimen were dry but those of two specimens were in opaque silk, flattish egg cocoons about 7"5 by 10 mm. One cocoon (holotype) contained 26 eggs with a mean diameter of 1.67 mm (N 10); the other (SAMA 1990267) contained 25 eggs with a mean diameter of 1-54 mm (N 10). The spiders appear to be confined to permanently damp microhabitats in damp banks.

Remarks Pulleine (1919) described a small trapdoor spider species Aganippe rainbowi from

American River, Kangaroo Island. The syntypes of this species are lost and its identity has always been doubtful. The figures, particularly a photograph of a female specimen and the drawing (and description) of the male palp, look very 'migid'-like. The burrows were also described as being shallow (the deepest only 6 cm) and sited just above the high-tide mark, both characteristics of certain migids (see Hickman, 1927). However, features mentioned in the description of the female, such as a rastellum and leg scopulae, indicate that at least some of the specimens collected were not migids. On the basis of the first description (female) and Pulleine's statement of a 'stout, circular' door, Main (1985 a, b) transferred the species to Blakistonia, of which genus specimens have been collected from the same general locality (data unpublished, BYM collection).

Discussion The occurrence of the genus Moggridgea in Australia is of particular zoogeographic

significance. There are several other arachnids with similar African affinities. The pseudoscorpion family Feaellidae with a single genus Feaella Ellingsen occurs in Africa and India, and has been recently recorded from the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia (Harvey, 1989). The arid area pseudoscorpion Austrohorus Beier of Western Australa has a close affinity with the west African genus Pseudohorus (Beier, 1966).

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The trapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 393

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r

G

FIG. 5. Moggridgea australis. (A)-(H) female holotype: (A) dorsal view; (B) sternal area and left maxilla; (C) eyes; (D) left cheliceral teeth; (E) right IV tarsal claws, retrolateral; (F) metatarsus IV apical preening comb; (G) patella I, sensory setae; (H) patella IV, sensory setae; (I)-(K) paratype (SMA 1990267); (I) left patella, tibia III, retrolateral; (J) dorsal depression on tibia III; (K) spermathecae; (L) paratype (SAM 1990268) spermathecae. p=prolateral; r=retrolateral. Scale bars: (A), (B), (I)= 1.0ram; (C), (K), (L)=0.5 mm; others not to scale.

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394 B.Y. Main

• M. t i n g l e x,,.)~

• M. a u s t r a l i s

FIG. 6. Distribution of Moggridgea in Australia. M. tingle, Walpole/Nornalup area Western Australia; M. australis, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Various spider genera have African affinities, for example the orbweaver Pararaneus Caporiacco which has been recently observed in southwestern Western Australia (this author, unpublished).

Although Moggridgea and other migids frequently construct nests in the bark of trees, it is unlikely that the spiders could be dispersed across the ocean. Their biology is not littoral like that of the barychelid Idioctis Koch. Therefore a vicariance hypothesis is postulated to explain the present geographic distribution of the Migidae. Land connections for Moggridgea would have been possible as late as 140 million years ago (during the Jurassic) when Africa and India had a link with Australia (Smith et al., 1981, map 36). But by 120 ma (early Cretaceous) these connections were severed, although up until 80 ma there was still a strong South American connection with Australia and New Zealand via Antarctica (Smith et al., 1981, maps 32 and 24).

Hence the distribution in the western half of the continent suggests that Moggridgea has been isolated in Australia longer than Migas (Miginae) and Heteromigas (Calathotarsinae) have been from South American representatives of those subfamilies. On present evidence it apears that Migas and Heteromigas are confined to eastern coastal Australia, Tasmania, and, at least for Migas, New Zealand and New Caledonia also.

In the light of this suggested Jurassic origin of Moggridgea in Australia it is pertinent to consider other taxa with possible coincident zoogeographic affinities. Howden (1981) suggested some Jurassic exchange of Scarabaeidae, particularly Dynastinae and Lucanidae, between Africa and Australia. Both these groups apparently have some genera with high dispersal capacity including their success 'in reaching distant islands'. Mathews (1976) is more positive in his interpretation of the origin of those Australian genera of the Coprini (Scarabaeinae, which subfamily is believed to have arisen in the Jurassic) with African affinities and their implied 'long

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The trapdoor spider Moggridgea in Australia 395

isolation' in Australia. He postulates 'A direct connection with Africa at a remote time', while conceding that it must have been tenuous and not as broad or 'unhindered' as the South American connection which facilitated transference of the Scarabaeinae. Mathews also hints at an ancient northern hemisphere connection via Africa, for certain taxa, apart from more recent connections via southeast Asia.

However, the most incontrovertible faunal comparison with Moggridgea is with the dipteran chironomid Archaeochlus Brundin. The genus comprises four species, of which three occur in Africa and one in Western Australia. Cranston et al. (1987) present a convincing and comprehensive argument for a vicariance zoogeographic interpre- tation of the present distribution of the genus, and discuss fossil data for a related Lebanese genus. They also predict persistent occurrences of Archaeochlus in eastern India where 'the eastern Ghats ... appear to date from pre-Jurassic age and have a seasonal monsoonal rainfall'. The northern affinities inferred in the foregoing, by Mathews (1976) and Cranston et al. (1987), gain credence by the extant occurrence of Moggridgea on Socotra Island in the Arabian Gulf (see Griswold, 1987). Similarly the widespread occurrence of the 'African' pseudoscorpion Feaella, which is known also from Madagascar, the Seychelles Islands, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka (and northwestern Western Australia only) (Harvey, 1989) may represent a component of the northern Gondwanan distribution hinted at by Mathews (1976). Harvey (1989) postulated 'an ancient, Gondwanan distribution' for the Feaellidae, but since the family appears to be absent from southwestern Australia its entry may have been later than that of Moggridgea. An 'Old Northern Element' in Australia, of later age than the southern Gondwanan element, was earlier proposed for some invertebrate, mainly insect, fauna by MacKerras (1970) and supported by Main (1981 b).

Within Australia, Archaeochlus is apparently confined to the Western Australian pre-Cambrian shield where it occurs on granite outcrops that provide seasonal freshwater pools conducive to the breeding biology of the species A. brundini Cranston, Edward and Colless.

One might now enquire whether Moggridgea formerly had a wider distribution on mainland Australia. Even if it was widely distributed over the western part of the continent during the Jurassic, it would surely have been fragmented latterly and further in the Cretaceous, first by the widespread lacustrine terrain and later by the epicontinental sea. Its present disparate distribution in southwest Western Australian and Kangaroo Island off South Australia is consistent with a hypothesis that, once fragmented the spiders remained restricted to the wetter periphery of their former (postulated) range. However the early record of Hogg (1896) of a migid (reported as Migas) in Central Australia should now be reconsidered. Hogg's fragmented specimen is now lost, and subsequent authors (Hickman, 1927; Raven, 1984; Main 1985) have doubted its identity. It would now appear possible that Moggridgea could be present in refuges in the central Australian ranges. Alternatively, in the light of recent discoveries of some Gondwanan invertebrates with South American affinities in central Australia, eg. the scorpion Cereophonius Peters (Koch, 1977; Smith, 1983) and the water penny beetles Sclerocyphon Blackburn (Davis, 1986) it seems the original identification of Migas from the area may have been correct. It is also possible that Moggridgea might occur in inland refugial microhabitats along seasonal watercourses or around granite outcrops in both Western Australia and South Australia. The tiny cryptozoic nests or burrows which are so unlike any of the predominant door-building mygalomorphs of the region could have escaped detection in spite of the years of sustained observations and collecting.

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Acknowledgements The Zoology Department of the University of Western Australia provided some

facilities. Tom Stewart prepared the SEM plates; Stan Hopwood assisted with photography. Permission to collect specimens in the Walpole/Nornalup National Park was granted by the Department of Conservation and Land Management. David Hirst (SAM) kindly loaned specimens which he collected on Kangaroo Island. Dr Mark Harvey gave access to the spider collection in the WAM and commented on the manuscript. Dr Valerie Todd Davies first noticed the male migid amongst unsorted material in the WAM. I am grateful for the assistance of A. R. Main in the field.

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