Abstract
The Western Australian species of the wolf spider (Lycosidae Sundevall, 1833) genus Artoria Thorell, 1877 are revised to include 20 species, 13 of which are new to science: Artoria aculeata sp. nov., A. atrata sp. nov., A. cingulipes Simon, 1909, A. emu sp. nov., A. falcata sp. nov., A. flavimana Simon, 1909, A. impedita (Simon, 1909), A. incrassata sp. nov., A. inversa sp. nov., A. lamellata sp. nov., A. linnaei Framenau, 2008, A. pileata sp. nov., A. pinnata sp. nov., A. plicata sp. nov., A. retorta sp. nov., A. schizocoides Framenau & Hebets, 2007, A. taeniata sp. nov., A. taeniifera Simon, 1909, A. trifida sp. nov., and A. wilkiei Framenau & Baehr, 2018. Thirteen of these species are endemic to the state and of these, three are only known from their type localities. We propose Priority status for the following species in accordance with the Western Australian Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Artoria emu sp. nov., A. falcata sp. nov. and A. plicata sp. nov. (Priority 1), and two further species only known from two localities, A. lamellata sp. nov. (Priority 2) and A. retorta sp. nov. (Priority 1). Most species of Artoria in Western Australia are associated with more humid areas and their distribution patterns suggest that their range might be correlated with specific rainfall regimes. Wet pitfall traps collected 637 samples (= 62.3%) considered in this study and six species were exclusively detected using these traps, including the species here proposed for Priority listing. We therefore argue that wet pitfall traps are an imperative tool for studying the biodiversity of ground-dwelling arthropods as long as vertebrate by-catch can be minimised.
