Systematics of the spiny trapdoor spider genus Bungulla (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae): revealing a remarkable radiation of mygalomorph spiders from the Western Australian arid zone

Abstract

The aganippine spiny trapdoor spiders of the genus Bungulla Rix, Main, Raven & Harvey are revised, and 30 new species are described from Western Australia: B. ajana sp. nov., B. aplini sp. nov., B. banksia sp. nov., B. bella sp. nov., B. bidgemia sp. nov., B. biota sp. nov., B. bringo sp. nov., B. burbidgei sp. nov., B. dipsodes sp. nov., B. disrupta sp. nov., B. ferraria sp. nov., B. fusca sp. nov., B. gibba sp. nov., B. hamelinensis sp. nov., B. harrisonae sp. nov., B. hillyerae sp. nov., B. inermis sp. nov., B. iota sp. nov., B. keigheryi sp. nov., B. keirani sp. nov., B. kendricki sp. nov., B. laevigata sp. nov., B. mckenziei sp. nov., B. oraria sp. nov., B. parva sp. nov., B. quobba sp. nov., B. sampeyae sp. nov., B. weld sp. nov., B. westi sp. nov. and B. yeni sp. nov. The type species, B. bertmaini Rix, Main, Raven & Harvey, 2017, is re-illustrated and re-diagnosed, and B. riparia (Main, 1957) is re-described. Molecular data from seven genes for a subset of taxa are analyzed with Bayesian methods, to complement the morphological descriptions, to help delimit three species known only from female specimens, and to generate a provisional phylogeny of the genus. Species of Bungulla exhibit a remarkable range of genitalic and somatic morphologies, and we here document this diversity, demonstrating that the characteristic loss of the retrolateral tibial apophysis has not been associated with a concomitant loss of genitalic complexity. We further provide a key to all known species and highlight the southern Carnarvon Basin (including the western Yalgoo and northern Geraldton Sandplains) as a hotspot of diversity.