Integrative taxonomy of the hooded wishbone spiders of the <i>Aname mellosa</i>-complex from Western Australia (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae)

Jeremy D Wilson; Michael Rix; Mia Hillyer; Joel Huey; Andrea Piccinini; Grace Redfern; Leigh Simmons; Erich Volschenk; Mark Harvey

Just Accepted

This article has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. It is in production and has not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

Integrative taxonomy of the hooded wishbone spiders of the Aname mellosa-complex from Western Australia (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae)

Jeremy D Wilson , Michael Rix , Mia Hillyer, Joel Huey , Andrea Piccinini , Grace Redfern, Leigh Simmons , Erich Volschenk, Mark Harvey

Abstract

The Australian wishbone spider genus Aname is perhaps the most diverse mygalomorph spider genus in the world, with an estimated 300 species distributed across the Australian mainland. In this study, we use extensive morphological and molecular datasets to revise the ‘mellosa-complex’, a clade of Western Australian species that are recognisable due to their distinctive morphology and characteristic ‘hooded’ burrow entrances. We delimit 25 species, including the nominal species A. mellosa Harvey, Framenau, Wojcieszek, Rix & Harvey, 2012, and 24 newly described species: A. amabilis sp. nov., A. arenicosta sp. nov., A. auromellosa sp. nov., A. boreoarca sp. nov., A. charlesdarwini sp. nov., A. cowani sp. nov., A. dimissa sp. nov., A. eowilsoni sp. nov., A. eurarca sp. nov., A. geminata sp. nov., A. isabelae sp. nov., A. jillae sp. nov., A. kaii sp. nov., A. nacta sp. nov., A. primarena sp. nov., A. prospecta sp. nov., A. sangeri sp. nov., A. senticosa sp. nov., A. simplex sp. nov., A. tacenda sp. nov., A. taracta sp. nov., A. terminata sp. nov., A. wanjarri sp. nov., and A. zephyrarca sp. nov. The mellosa-complex is endemic to xeric habitats north of the mulga-eucalypt line in Western Australia and comprises three distinct clades with largely non-overlapping distributions: the amabilis species-group, the charlesdarwini species-group, and the mellosa species-group. Species in this complex, particularly those in the mellosa species-group, are morphologically cryptic. To ensure accurate identification, we provide molecular diagnoses and sequence data for all 23 species for which nucleotide data are available, totalling 429 sequenced specimens across the entire complex. These findings expand our understanding of the diversity and distributions of Aname species in Western Australia and, given the occurrence of many taxa in the resource-rich Pilbara bioregion, will be important for accurate Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

IS25012 Accepted 29 August 2025