Comparative morphology of the Australian lynx spiders of the genus Oxyopes (Araneae : Oxyopidae)

Abstract

We examined the morphology of the genitalia and cuticular scales of eight species of Australian lynx spiders of the genus Oxyopes and compared them with those of representative species from Africa, Asia and North America. Our results indicate that the eight species examined are representative of two distinct species groups of Oxyopes in Australia. The first group consists ofO. amoenus, O. dingo, O. gracilipes, O. molarius, O. rubicundus, and O. variabilis. The evolutionary origin of these spiders is difficult to discern as they share multiple genitalic characters with African and Asian taxa. However, these six species display two characters, leg scales and internal cuticular elements in the opisthosomal scales, that are exhibited by African, but not Asian, taxa. The second group consists of Oxyopes macilentus and O. papuanis. These taxa exhibit many of the same morphological features, exhibited by Asian, but not African, species.