Arachnura, Vinson, 1863

Castanheira, Pedro De S., Didham, Raphael K., Vink, Cor J. & Framenau, Volker W., 2019, The scorpion-tailed orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Araneidae, Arachnura) in Australia and New Zealand, Zootaxa 4706 (1), pp. 147-170 : 165-166

Arachnura sp. indet. (adult female)

( Figs. 10 ; 12 )

Material examined. Westport (41°45’09”S, 171°36’44”E, Buller, NEW ZEALAND), T. Peet, iii.2014 (1 ♀, NZAC 0301839).

Remarks. Arachnura sp. indet. (adult female) differs distinctly from the otherwise only known Arachnura from New Zealand, A. feredayi , in particular by somatic characters. The carapace is dark brown with conspicuous and unique central light markings that diverge posteriorly ( Fig. 10A ). The abdominal tail appears compressed with numerous transverse ridges basally, not present in A. feredayi . The epigynum is similar to that of A. feredayi , but appears comparatively wider ( Fig. 10C ). We could also not find a match of this species to any other Arachnura described from the region, including A. simoni Berland, 1924 , currently known from New Caledonia, of which representative specimens that matched the original description ( Berland, 1924) were examined (1 female, Mt Aoupinie, New Caledonia, AM KS54212; 1 female, Mt Tinchialit, New Caledonia, BMNH 1952.9.2.1).

Despite its recent collection date (2014), the female from Westport is not in a good condition. Its deflated legs suggest it has dried up since its collection and subsequent storage in ethanol. Therefore we refrain from formally describing this female as new species, particularly because the genus as a whole has been poorly revised and there remains uncertainty in whether it might represent an already named species from another region of the world.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Arachnura sp. indet. (adult), female (NZAC0301839): A, dorsal habitus. B, ventral habitus; C, epignyne, ventral view. Scale bars, 2 mm.

FIGURE 12. Distribution records of Arachnura in New Zealand. Arachnura feredayi (L. Koch) (grey circles), Arachnura. sp. indet. (adult female) (black square).