title: Four new Mouse Spider species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae, Missulena) from Western Australia.
abstract: Four new species of the Mouse Spider genus Missulena Walckenaer, 1805 (family Actinopodidae) are described from Western Australia based on morphological features of adult males. Missulena leniae sp. n.(from the Carnarvon and Yalgoo biogeographic regions), Missulena mainae sp. n. (Carnarvon), Missulena melissae sp. n. (Pilbara) and Missulena pinguipes sp. n. (Mallee) represent a broad spectrum of morphological diversity found in this genus and differ from other congeners by details of the male copulatory bulb, colour patterns, eye sizes, leg morphology and leg spination. Two of the species, M. pinguipes sp. n. and M. mainae sp. n., are characterised by swollen metatarsi of the fourth legs in males, a feature not previously recorded in the family. A key to males of all named Missulena species from Australia is presented and allows their identification based on external morphology.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Aracnologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Caixa Postal 399, 66017-970 Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laura Tavares
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Miglio
authors.affiliation: School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia ; Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Western Australia 6986, Australia ; Phoenix Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd, 1/511 Wanneroo Road, Balcatta, Western Australia 6021, Australia.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd, 1/511 Wanneroo Road, Balcatta, Western Australia 6021, Australia ; Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Western Australia 6986, Australia ; School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Volker Wilhelm
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Framenau
authors.affiliation: Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Western Australia 6986, Australia ; School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia ; School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia ; Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street @ Central Park West, New York, New York 10024-5192, USA ; Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California 94103-3009 USA.
authors.forename: Mark Stephen
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Harvey
keywords: Biodiversity; Gondwanan fauna; systematics; taxonomy; trapdoor spiders