A review of the pirate spiders of Tasmania (Arachnida, Mimetidae, Australomimetus) with description of a new species

A new pirate spider (family Mimetidae) is described as Australomimetus mendax new species from Tasmania, Australia. In this context, all mimetid species currently known from the island have been reviewed and re-illustrated. Five species are recorded and they all belong to the genus Australomimetus Heimer 1986. Re-illustrated here are Australomimetus maculosus (Rainbow 1904), A. tasmaniensis (Hickman 1929) new combination, A. aurioculatus (Hickman 1929) new combination and A. audax (Hickman 1929) new combination. We briefly discuss the phylogenetic relationships of these species and provide distribution maps of their Tasmanian records. Australomimetus mendax is the only species currently endemic to Tasmania. All other species exhibit wide distribution patterns from tropical Queensland to Western Australia. The ranges of A. aurioculatus and A. audax - species originally thought to be Tasmanian endemics - are now extended to include the Australian mainland as well. The cosmopolitan genus Mimetus Hentz 1832 is restricted and excludes all pirate spiders with a Tasmanian distribution.