Scotospilus nelsonensis explained

Scotospilus nelsonensis is a species of Hahniidae spider endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described as Tuana nelsonensis by Ray Forster in 1970 from male and female specimens. In 1986, Tuana was recognized as a synonym of Scotospilus, so the species name was changed to Scotospilus nelsonensis.^[2] The holotype is stored in Otago Museum.

Description

The male is recorded at 1.90mm in length whereas the female is 2.37mm. The carapace is darkly coloured with black markings dorsally. The legs are pale brown with dark markings. The abdomen is blackish with pale chevron pattern dorsally.^[1]

Distribution

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

Notes and References

1. Forster, R. R. (1970). The spiders of New Zealand. Part III. Otago Museum Bulletin 3: 1-184
2. Brignoli, P. M. (1986). Spiders from Melanesia III. A new Alistra (Araneae, Hahniidae) from the Solomon Islands. Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona 11: 327-332
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.