Waitkera

Waitkera is a genus of spiders in the family Uloboridae. It was first described in 1979 by Opell. As of 2017, it contains only one species, Waitkera waitakerensis, found in New Zealand.[1]

Waitkera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Uloboridae
Genus: Waitkera
Species:
W. waitakerensis
Binomial name
Waitkera waitakerensis
(Chamberlain, 1946)[1]

Description

Female Waitkera waitakerensis are 3-5mm in length whereas males are 3-4mm in length.[2] The female may weigh about 9 mg.[3] The carapace is grey with light lateral margins. The dorsal side of the abdomen is white with five to six posteromedian grey chevrons whilst the ventral side is grey with white book lung covers. There may also be three pairs of white spots above the cribellum.[2] There is also a Northland ecotype that occupies different habitat and is larger than the rest of W. waitakerensis.[4]

Distribution/Habitat

Waitkera waitakerensis is restricted to the North Island of New Zealand. This species is the only member of the family Uloboridae endemic to New Zealand.[5] The species is typically found in forests where horizontal orb-webs are constructed in understory vegetation.[5] The Northland ecotype lives in shaded rock crevices of cliffs.[4]

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References
  1. "Uloboridae". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  2. Opell, B. D. (1979). Revision of the genera and tropical American species of the spider family Uloboridae. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 148: 443-549.
  3. Opell, B.D. 1999. Changes in spinning anatomy and thread stickiness associated with the origin of orb-weaving spiders. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 68:593-612.
  4. Opell, Brent D. (2006). "Molecular Phylogenetic Evidence for the Parallel Evolution of Rock Ecomorphs in the New Zealand Orb-Weaving Spider Waitkera waitakerensis (Family Uloboridae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 34 (2): 467–475. doi:10.1636/04-94.1. ISSN 0161-8202. JSTOR 4129806.
  5. Paquin, P., Vink, C. & Dupérré, N. (2010). Spiders of New Zealand: annotated family key & species list. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, New Zealand, 118 pp.


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