Spelungula

Spelungula is a monotypic genus of South Pacific large-clawed spiders containing the single species, Spelungula cavernicola, or the Nelson cave spider. It was first described by Ray Forster, Norman I. Platnick, & Michael R. Gray in 1987,[2] and has only been found in caves in the northwestern part of New Zealand's South Island.[1][3]

Spelungula
Nelson cave spider, Oparara basin, Karamea, New Zealand

Range Restricted (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Gradungulidae
Genus: Spelungula
Forster, 1987[1]
Species:
S. cavernicola
Binomial name
Spelungula cavernicola
Forster, 1987

Etymology

The genus name is derived from "spelunca", which is latin for cave and is feminine in gender. The species name "cavernicola" refers to the species restriction to caves.[2]

Description

It is New Zealand's largest known spider, with a legspan of 13 to 15 centimetres (5.1 to 5.9 in) and a body length of 2.4 centimetres (0.94 in), and its main prey is cave weta.[4][5]

Conservation status

It is one of the few spider species afforded legal protection under the New Zealand Wildlife Act.[6][7] It is classed as "Range Restricted" and stable in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[8]

In May 2022, the Crazy Paving Cave in Kahurangi National Park, where the spiders are known to breed, was closed for a year in an attempt to help the population to recover.[9]

See also

References
  1. Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019). "Gen. Spelungula Forster, 1987". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  2. Forster, R. R.; Platnick, N. I.; Gray, M. R. (1987). "A review of the spider superfamilies Hypochiloidea and Austrochiloidea (Araneae, Araneomorphae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 185: 1–116.
  3. Sirvid, P. J.; Vink, C. J.; Wakelin, M. D.; Fitzgerald, B. M.; Hitchmough, R. A.; Stringer, I. A.N. (2012). "The conservation status of New Zealand Araneae". New Zealand Entomologist. 35 (2): 85–90. doi:10.1080/00779962.2012.686310. ISSN 0077-9962. S2CID 84574921.
  4. McLachlan, Andrew. "Nelson cave spider". www.teara.govt.nz. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  5. "Topic: Nelson cave spider | Collections Online – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
  6. Faulls, D. (1991). "Eight legs, two fangs and an attitude". New Zealand Geographic (10): 68–96.
  7. Wildlife Act – Schedule 7 Terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates declared to be animals
  8. Molloy, Janice; et al. (2002). "Classifying species according to threat of extinction. A system for New Zealand" (PDF). Department of Conservation (New Zealand). Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  9. "Nelson cave to shut for a year to improve rare spider's population". RNZ. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
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