Taxonomy

Copocrossa has one Australian species: Copocrossa tenuilineata. Three species, doubtfully belonging to this genus, are found in the African and Oriental Regions. Another Australian species previously placed in Copocrossa as Copocrossa tenerrimus was transferred to Paraplatoides by Zabka (1992). Copocrossa is not closely related to any other Australian taxa. Only the female of Copocrossa tenuilineata has been described. However, males have been collected since and are illustrated here. Further information on the genus and described species can be found in Richardson and Żabka (2017) and Whyte and Anderson (2017).

Description

Copocrossa tenuilineata is a small spider, body length about 3 mm, with a long, narrow body, very low cephalothorax and extremely long, slender first legs with six short, blunt ventral spines on the tibia. The chelicerae have three retro-marginal teeth (plurident) with two teeth on the promargin. The females are light in colour with parallel longitudinal stripes going almost the entire length of the whole body. The males are much narrower and much darker in colour. In the male the first pair of legs are as long as or longer than the body.

The male’s palpal organ has an embolus which forms a full anticlockwise circle over the distal part of the tegulum. The roughly elliptical tegulum has a proximal lobe. The retro-lateral tibial apophysis is long and thin, ending in a sharp point.

The female has a single, large, faintly-outlined epigynal atrium. The insemination ducts are long, travelling from the posterior edges of the atrium posteriorly to join highly-convoluted spermathecae near the epigastric fold.

Biology

Copocrossa is found in subtropical and tropical rainforest on foliage or under bark.

Distribution

Copocrossa is found in eastern Queensland from Mount Glorious to Cooktown and probably south to northern N.S.W.

References

Davies, V.T. & Żabka, M. 1989 Illustrated keys to the genera of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) in Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 27, 189-266.

Richardson, B.J. & Żabka, M. 2017. Salticidae. Arachnida: Araneomorphae. Canberra, Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, at https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/SALTICIDAE.

Whyte, R. & Anderson, G. 2017. A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia. CSIRO Publishing: Clayton.

Zabka, M. 1992. Salticidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Oriental, Australian and Pacific Regions, VII. Paraplatoides and Grayenulla — New genera from Australia and New Caledonia. Records of the Australian Museum 44, 165-183

* The information sheet should be interpreted in the context of the associated diagrams and photographs. Diagrams explaining anatomical terms can be found in the ‘Salticidae’ pictures at the beginning of the list of genera.