''Macrogradungula'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n large-clawed spiders containing the single species, ''Macrogradungula moonya''. It was first described by Michael R. Gray in 1987, and has only been found in

. It is classified under the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Gradungulidae Gradungulidae, also known as large-clawed spiders, is a spider family endemic to Australia and New Zealand. They are medium to large-sized haplogyne spiders with three claws and two pairs of book-lungs similar to Mygalomorphae. Some species buil ...

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

Austrochiloidea The Austrochiloidea or austrochiloids are a group of araneomorph spiders, treated as a superfamily. The taxon contains two families of eight-eyed spiders: * Austrochilidae Zapfe, 1955 * Gradungulidae Forster, 1955 Phylogeny The monophyly of ...

, and

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Araneomorphae The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha or "true spiders") are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (taran ...

Distribution

''Macrogradungula moonya'' is currently known from three disjunct localities in northeastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The first specimens were recovered from rainforest

sink hole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s in Boulder Creek, Walter Hill Range. Other specimens were reported from caves and cavities among boulder fields in the mountains of the

Kalkajaka National Park Kalkajaka National Park, also called Black Mountain National Park, is a protected area in Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Geography The park is 25 km south west of Cooktown. It is managed and protected as a national park under the ...

and

Mount Bartle Frere Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet, Sir Henry Bartle Frere ...

. It is unknown if these other populations may represent new species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14694078, from2=Q2570594 Gradungulidae Monotypic Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by Michael R. Gray