Stanwellia tuna explained

Stanwellia tuna is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described as Aparua tuna in 1968 by Ray Forster from a single male specimen collected on Ruapuke Island. It was transferred into the Stanwellia genus in 1983.^[2] The holotype is stored at Otago Museum.

Description

The male is recorded at 9.5mm in length. The carapace is yellow, but darker around the eyes. The legs are orange brown. The abdomen is cream with a chevron pattern dorsally.

Distribution

This species is only known from Ruapuke Island, New Zealand.

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Naturally Uncommon" with the qualifiers of "Island Endemic" and "One Location".^[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. Main . Barbara York . 1983 . Further studies on the systematics of Australian Diplurinae (Chelicerata: Mygalomorphae: Dipluridae): Two new genera from south western Australia . Journal of Natural History . en . 17 . 6 . 923–949 . 10.1080/00222938300770731 . 0022-2933.
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.