Cantuaria wanganuiensis explained

Cantuaria wanganuiensis a species of trapdoor spider endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described as Korua wanganuiensis in 1945 by Valerie Todd from an immature male specimen collected near Whanganui.^[2] It was transferred to the Cantuaria genus in 1968 by Ray Forster who also described the female. The holotype is stored at Otago Museum.

Description

The immature male (presumed to be subadult) is recorded at 15.5mm in length. The carapace and legs are reddish brown. The abdomen has dark patches dorsally. The female is recorded at 16.5mm in length. The carapace and legs are reddish brown. The abdomen is yellow brown.

Distribution

This species is only known from Whanganui, 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".^[3]

Notes and References

1. Forster . Raymond Robert . Wilton . Cecil Louis . 1968-01-01 . The Spiders of New Zealand Part II: Ctenizidae, Dipluridae & Migidae . Otago Museum bulletin . 2 . 1–166.
2. Davies . Valerie . 1944-01-01 . Systematic and Biological Account of the New Zealand Mygalomorphae (Arachnida). . Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand . English . 74 . 375–407.
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.