Ascuta monowai explained

Ascuta monowai is a species of Orsolobidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described in 1985 by Ray Forster and Norman Platnick from a single female specimen collected at Lake Monowai. The species name refers to the locality of the holotype. The holotype is stored at Otago Museum.

Description

The female is recorded at 3.04mm in length. The carapace and abdomen are patterned.

Distribution

This species is only known from near Lake Monowai in Southland, 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", "Data Poor: Trend" and "One Location".^[2]

Notes and References

1. 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.
2. 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.