Ascuta inopinata explained

Ascuta inopinata is a species of Orsolobidae spider of the genus Ascuta. The species is endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described in 1956 by Ray Forster from a single male specimen collected on Mount Arthur. It was redescribed in 1985.^[2] The holotype is stored in Te Papa Museum under registration number AS.000052.^[3]

Description

The male is recorded at 2.29mm in length. The carapace is red brown. The legs are yellow brown. The abdomen is creamy with a chevron pattern.

Distribution

This species is only known from Mount Arthur and Mount Fell, New Zealand.

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Data Deficient" with the qualifiers of "Data Poor: Size" and "Data Poor: Trend".^[4]

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. Web site: Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa . 2024-08-06 . collections.tepapa.govt.nz.
4. 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.