''Synothele lowei'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
mygalomorph
The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3,000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to t ...
spider in the
Barychelidae
Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 39 genera.
Behaviour
Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the long '' Sipalolasma'' builds its burrow in rotted wood, ...
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 ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Australia. It was
described in 1994 by Australian
arachnologist
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...
Robert Raven
Robert John Raven is an Australian arachnologist, being the Head of Terrestrial Biodiversity and the Senior Curator (Arachnida) at the Queensland Museum. Dr Raven has described over 450 species of spider in Australia and elsewhere, and is spider ...
. The specific epithet ''lowei'' honours G. H. Lowe, collector and contributor of specimens to the
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory body, statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''.
The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located i ...
.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in south-west
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. The
type locality is
Bullsbrook, a northern suburb of
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
.
References
lowei
Endemic fauna of Australia
Spiders of Australia
Arthropods of Western Australia
Spiders described in 1994
Taxa named by Robert Raven
{{Barychelidae-stub