Tangata orepukiensis explained

Tangata orepukiensis is a species of Orsolobidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described as Ascuta alpina in 1956 by Ray Forster from male and female specimens collected in Southland. It was moved to the Tangata genus in 1985.^[2] The holotype is stored in Canterbury Museum.

Description

The male is recorded at 2.00mm in length whereas the female is 2.75mm. This species legs and carapace are coloured dark reddish brown. The abdomen has a chevron pattern dorsally.

Distribution

This species is only known from Southland, New Zealand.

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Data Deficient" with the qualifiers "Data Poor: Size" and "Data Poor: Trend".^[3]

Notes and References

1. Forster . R. R . 1956 . New Zealand spiders of the family Oonopidae . Records of the Canterbury Museum . 7 . 89–169.
2. Forster . R.R . Platnick . N.L . 1985 . A review of the austral spider family Orsolobidae (Arachnida, Araneae), with notes on the superfamily Dysderoidea . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 181 . 1–230.
3. Sirvid . P. J. . Vink . C. J. . Fitzgerald . B. M. . Wakelin . M. D. . Rolfe . J. . Michel . P. . 2020-01-01 . Conservation status of New Zealand Araneae (spiders), 2020 . New Zealand Threat Classification Series . English . 34 . 1–37.