A new species of Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from the island of New Guinea

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  A new species of Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from the island of New Guinea Abstract A new species, Dolomedes afi sp. n., is diagnosed and described from New Guinea Island (Papua New Guinea) based on both sexes. The new species is similar to the Australian species D. alexandri Raven & Hebron, 2018, D. vicque Raven & Hebron, 2018 and D. wollemi Raven & Hebron, 2018, but differs from them in the structure of the copulatory organs. The new species exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism in body coloration. A detailed description and digital photographs are provided. The collecting localities of Dolomedes species in New Guinea are mapped. Fomichev, A. A., & Omelko, M. M. (2026). A new species of Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from the island of New Guinea.  Acta Biologica Sibirica ,  12 , 355-365. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19563050

A place for everything, and everything in its place: A new genus for the spiny Australian crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae)

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A place for everything, and everything in its place: A new genus for the spiny Australian crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae)

Abstract

Recent phylogenetic analyses have shown consistent evidences that the composition of some Stephanopinae genera, as well as their distribution, were wrongly assigned throughout the 20th century. Inaccurate descriptions and vague diagnoses resulted in groups that are actually formed by multiple genera, which were repeatedly recovered as polyphylies. The present work is part of a long-term morphological study that aims to better understand and delineate the taxonomic boundaries of the Australian stephanopines. Hereinafter, we present a new combination for a group of spiders hitherto considered as part of Sidymella Strand, 1942, officially elevating it to a generic rank and highlighting its diagnostic features. The genus Spinaarachne gen.nov. is proposed not only to comprise the new species S. aculeata sp. nov. and S. pilosa sp. nov. but also to accommodate the transference of S. hirsuta (L. Koch, 1874) comb. nov. Brief notes regarding the plausible reasons of why S. hirsuta comb. nov. was previously attributed to a Neotropical genus are presented, and new distribution records are also provided.

Machado, M. and R. A. Teixeira. 2025. A place for everything, and everything in its place: A new genus for the spiny Australian crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae). Records of the Australian Museum 77(5): 271-283. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.77.2025.1913