Scotospilus plenus explained

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

Taxonomy

This species was described as Tuana plena 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 plenus.^[2] The holotype is stored in Te Papa Museum under registration number AS.000089.^[3]

Description

The male is recorded at 1.72mm in length whereas the female is 2mm. The carapace is dark brown. The legs are yellow brown. The abdomen is purplish with faint markings dorsally.

Distribution

This species is only known from Westland, 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".^[4]

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. Web site: Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa . 2024-10-27 . 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.