Revision of the Australian wolf spider genus Anomalosa Roewer, 1960 (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Abstract

The wolf spider genus Anomalosa Roewer, 1960 is revised with Anomalosa kochi (Simon, 1898) as type species. Anomalosa includes a further Australian species, A. oz sp. nov. Representatives of Anomalosa are small, elongated lycosids with a longitudinal light median band on the dorsal shield of the prosoma and on the opisthosoma, the latter being particularly distinct in males. They are closely related to Venonia Thorell, 1894. Similar to Venonia, males have a bipartite prolateral tegular lobe on the pedipalp, but it is much larger than in Venonia and, in contrast to Venonia, larger than the membranous tegular apophysis. Anomalosa kochi has only been found in Queensland, whereas the distribution of A. oz sp. nov. includes New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. This allopatric distribution coincides with the McPherson Range as a biogeographical border. Although most males and females of Anomalosa have been caught in pitfall traps or running freely in moderately moist habitats, such as near creeks and dams, there is evidence that representatives of this genus build sheet-webs similar to Venonia. This behaviour is supported by morphological evidence as species of Anomalosa have elongated posterior spinnerets. The original description of A. harishi (Dyal, 1935) from Panjab, India, does not match the diagnosis of Anomalosa. Consequently, I reject the inclusion of A. harishi in Anomalosa and re-transfer it to its original genus Anomalomma Simon, 1890, Anomalomma harishi Dyal, 1935, pending a systematic revision of this genus.