Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Spelungula
Genus of spiders From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Spelungula is a monotypic genus of South Pacific large-clawed spiders containing the single species, Spelungula cavernicola, or the Nelson cave spider.[2]
Remove ads
Taxonomy
This species was described in 1987 by Ray Forster from specimens collected in caves around Nelson.[3] The holotype is stored at Te Papa Museum under registration number AS.000014.[4]
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.[3]
Description
It is New Zealand's largest known spider, with a leg span 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.[5][6]
Distribution/habitat
This species is only known from caves in northwestern Nelson, New Zealand.[3]
Conservation status
It is one of the few spider species afforded legal protection under the New Zealand Wildlife Act.[7][8] It is classified as "Range Restricted" and stable in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[9]
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.[10]
Gallery
See also
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads