Phoroncidia puketoru explained

Phoroncidia puketoru is a species of cobweb spider that is endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described in 1955 by Brian John Marples from male and female specimens. It was moved to the Phoroncidia genus in 1983.^[2] The holotype is stored in Otago Museum.

Description

The male is recorded at 1.42mm in length whereas the female is 1.68mm. The body is mostly dark brown. The abdomen has mottled patches of pale cream.

Distribution

This species is known from scattered localities throughout 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. Marples . B. J. . Mattaews . L. Harrison . 1955 . A new type of web spun by spiders of the genus Ulesanis with the description of two new species . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . en . 125 . 3-4 . 751–760 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1955.tb00625.x . 0370-2774.
2. Brignoli, P. M. (1983). A catalogue of the Araneae described between 1940 and 1981. Manchester University Press, 755 pp
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.