Portacosa

Fauna Portal Genus Number: 2790

(after Framenau 2017): Somatic morphology, in particular the lack of a distinct colour pattern on carapace and abdomen (in particular in live spiders), places Portacosa in close affinity with Hoggicosa; however, males of Portacosa lack the apical, dorsally bent setae on the cymbium tip and the median septum of the female epigyne is narrower anteriorly than the with of the posterior transverse part. A putative apomorphy of the genus is the shape of the tegular apophysis. Unlike any other member of the family Lycosinae in Australia, the ridge of the tegular apophysis (connecting its apical point and ventral process) is very sharp and situated more towards the retrolateral edge of the tegular apophysis, whereas it reaches from the apical point to a more central ventral process in other Lycosinae in Australia. This corresponds to a continuous edge of the anterior hood of the epigyne with the median septum, whilst this edge is often interrupted in other Lycosinae in Australia. Portacosa lacks any of the proposed synapomorphies of other Australian members of the Lycosinae i.e. the tegular apophysis is not retrolaterally incised as in Venator, the carapace lacks a Union-Jack pattern as in Tasmanicosa, the pedipalp lacks a large patch of apical setae as in Knoelle, the tegular apophysis is not elongated and spiders do not show turret-building behaviour as in Dingosa, the carapace and abdomen are not dorsoventrally flattened as in Tapetosa, the tegular apophysis lacks apical serrations as in Costacosa, the abdomen is not dark with transverse light bands and spiders do not display turret-building behaviour as in Mainosa, and male pedipalp cymbia do not have a compound apical hook as in Venatrix and Tuberculosa.