The jumping spider genus Papuaneon Maddison, 2016 (Araneae: Salticidae) in Australia.

The description of the monotypic genus Papuaneon Maddison, 2016 was based on two specimens of Papuaneon tualapa Maddison, 2016 from Papua New Guinea. This species, plus five new species, namely Papuaneon eungella n. sp., Papuaneon eurobodalla n. sp., Papuaneon ewingar n. sp., Papuaneon tapin n. sp. and Papuaneon werrikimbe n. sp., are described from eastern Australia. These species occur serially down the east coast of Australia from Cape York to Tasmania.

Additions to the euophryine jumping spider fauna (Araneae: Salticidae) of Australia.

Previously unknown species in the genera Barraina Richardson, 2013 and Frewena Richardson, 2013, the undescribed female of Prostheclina boreoaitha Richardson and abka, 2007 and a new synonym of Servaea incana (Karsch 1878), namely Cytaea morrisoni Dunn, 1951 n. syn., are described here. The suggestion that Servaea vestita (Koch, L., 1879) be reinstated from the synonymy of S. incana is reviewed and, on the basis of morphological and molecular data, not accepted. The new species are: Barraina abbedar n. sp., Barraina banyabba n. sp., Barraina melanoros n. sp., Barraina occidentalis n. sp., Barraina pilata n. sp. and Frewena terraregina n. sp..

The Australian National Rabbit Database: 50 yr of population monitoring of an invasive species.

With ongoing introductions into Australia since the 1700s, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has become one of the most widely distributed and abundant vertebrate pests, adversely impacting Australia's biodiversity and agroeconomy. To understand the population and range dynamics of the species and its impacts better, occurrence and abundance data have been collected by researchers and citizens from sites covering a broad spectrum of climatic and environmental conditions in Australia. The lack of a common and accessible repository for these data has, however, limited their use in determining important spatiotemporal drivers of the structure and dynamics of the geographical range of rabbits in Australia. To meet this need, we created the Australian National Rabbit Database, which combines more than 50 yr of historical and contemporary survey data collected from throughout the range of the species in Australia. The survey data, obtained from a suite of complementary monitoring methods, were combined with high-resolution weather, climate, and environmental information, and an assessment of data quality. The database provides records of rabbit occurrence (689,265 records) and abundance (51,241 records, >120 distinct sites) suitable for identifying the spatiotemporal drivers of the rabbit's distribution and for determining spatial patterns of variation in its key life-history traits, including maximum rates of population growth. Because all data are georeferenced and date stamped, they can be coupled with information from other databases and spatial layers to explore the potential effects of rabbit occurrence and abundance on Australia's native wildlife and agricultural production. The Australian National Rabbit Database is an important tool for understanding and managing the European rabbit in its invasive range and its effects on native biodiversity and agricultural production. It also provides a valuable resource for addressing questions related to the biology, success, and impacts of invasive species more generally. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of this Data Paper.

New genera, new species and redescriptions of Australian jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae).

A number of Australian species have been placed in the wrong, often non-Australian, genera. Some of these problems have been corrected here, by transfer or establishment of new genera. Several new species discovered during the course of the work are also described. Marptusa jovialis L. Koch, 1879 and Marptusa bracteata L. Koch, 1879 are transferred to Apricia gen. nov. Apricia longipalpis sp. nov. is also described from Australia. The study of the Australian species presently included in Trite Simon 1885 showed that this genus does not occur in mainland Australia. Hence, Marptusa vulpecula Thorell, 1881 is transferred to Capeyorkia gen. nov., while Marptusa longula Thorell, 1881 is transferred to Evarcha Simon, 1902. The only previously described 'Australian' species to remain in Trite is Trite concinna Rainbow, 1920, from Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Pacific, while Trite grayi sp. nov., also from Lord Howe Island, is described here. Trite concinna Rainbow 1920 is redescribed. Most specimens previous listed as this species from Lord Howe Island (including most of the syntype series) belong in Ancepitilobus howensis gen. nov. et sp. nov. Clynotis severus (L. Koch, 1879) is the solitary species that remains in Clynotis Simon, 1901, with the remainder of the mainland species being transferred to Pungalina Richardson, 2013: P. albobarbata (L. Koch, 1879) comb. nov., P. semiatra (L. Koch, 1879) comb. nov. and P. semiferruginea (L. Koch, 1879) comb. nov. Pungalina plurilineata sp. nov. and Pungalina waldockae sp. nov. are also described from Australia. Clynotis gratiosa from Lord Howe Island is formally transferred to Tara Peckham & Peckham, 1886, as suggested previously. Tara gratiosa (Rainbow, 1920) is redescribed. Finally, three names, Gangus longulus Simon, 1902, Trite ornata Rainbow, 1915 and Plexippus albopilosus Keyserling, 1883, are considered species inquirendae, due to the state or loss of type material.

A redescription of the type species of the jumping spider genus Pseudomaevia (Araneae: Salticidae) from Lord Howe Island, Australia.

The genus Pseudomaevia Rainbow, 1920 presently includes three forms, P. cognata Rainbow, 1920, P. insulana Berland, 1942 and P. i. aorai Berland, 1942, all found in the western Pacific region (Platnick 2014). The type species, P. cognata, was only briefly described with some poor illustrations of the male, but no information was given on the female. This situation makes placing species in this genus, or the genus in a wider context, difficult. The present work describes and illustrates both sexes of the type species. The female genitalia are unusual in that the insemination duct joins the fertilization duct without any apparent spermatheca. The subfamilial placement of the genus is unknown.

New unidentate jumping spider genera (Araneae: Salticidae) from Australia.

The Australian fauna includes large numbers of undescribed, tiny, litter-living, jumping spiders. In this paper four monotypic new genera (Ananeon howardensis n. g. n. sp., Barraina anfracta n. g. n.sp., Frewena maculata n.g. n.s., and Pungalina weiri n.g, n.sp.) are described. Two species (Neon taylori n.sp. and Neon australis n. sp.) representing the two distinctive morphological patterns found in Australian species of this genus are also described. The former, similar in the morphology of the palp and genitalia to that found in many species from eastern Australia, is most similar in morphology to N. sumatranus Logunov 1998 from Indonesia and N. kovblyuki Logunov 2004 from the Crimea. The latter, and other similar species from South Australia and Western Australia, has palp morphology and fringing on L1 very similar to that seen in N. nojimai Ikeda 1995 from Japan.

Relationships between genomic base content and distribution of mass in coded proteins.

The aim of this research was to examine the possible significance of genome/protein relationships in terms of effects on distribution of mass, especially in proteins. Amino acid residues in proteins have side-chains and polypeptide segments. We use "SCM" (side-chain mass), "MCM" (main-chain mass), and "deltaM" (SCM-MCM) as the deviation from "mass balance." Total MCM of the 61 amino acids in the standard code, 3412, equals total SCM: they form a mass balanced set (mean deltaM = 0). Of 14 natural variants of the code, seven have slightly positive mean deltaM values and seven have slightly negative values. Codes with the standard amino acids assigned randomly to the 20 codon sets of the standard code have about one chance in 3,300 of producing a mass balanced set. In natural proteins, as %A + T increases, the proportion of the mass in the side-chains also increases, by about half the amount calculated for standard genes with various AT/GC ratios, partly due to selection of codons with greater variability in composition at synonymous sites. For 203 representative species (including organelles), the total protein mass is distributed approximately equally between SCM and MCM (overall mean deltaM/amino acid residue, -0.06). The attainment of some overall macromolecular mass balance may have been a criterion for selecting the codon/amino acid pairs. When both structural and dynamic requirements are considered, a genetic code based on hydrophobicity and mass balance as key properties seems likely.