Melissa's Mouse Spider Missulena melissae Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014
Fauna Portal species: 7637
Missulena melissae male, doral (WAM T97323; Millstream-Chichester National Park, 6 km N. of Millstream Homestead, Western Australia)
Image: Miglio et al. (2014; fig. 1A)
Fauna Portal Image No. 5185Diagnosis
(after Miglio et al. 2014): Males of M. melissae differ from the two other species with a brown body colour, strongly-sclerotised rastellum with thick spines, smooth and glabrous chelicerae with prominent horizontal ridges and short claws (i.e. M. faulderi and M. rutraspina) by details of the bulb and somatic morphology: embolus short and with a distal tooth (exceeding length of the bulb and without distal tooth in M. faulderi), carapace length ca. 4 cm (3.5 cm in M. rutraspina), patella I-III with rasps (patella III only in M. faulderi), rastellum on a low mound (mound distinct in M. faulderi), inner row of cheliceral teeth divided (first six teeth fused in M. faulderi), and pedipalp patella and tibia swollen (much more slender in M. faulderi). Males of M. rutraspina differ in having a simple embolus tip without processes, a straight embolus, rasps on patella III only, rastellum on a distinct mound, inner row of cheliceral teeth with six spaced teeth, and pedipalp tibia and patella more slender. The female of M. melissae sp. n. is unknown.
Status
- native
Linnean Holotype
Australia
- Western Australia