Spiders of New Zealand
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
has about 2600 described spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
species with many more as yet undescribed. Some 95 per cent are endemic.
The largest spider in New Zealand is the Nelson cave spider (Spelungula cavernicola
Spelungula cavernicola
Spelungula cavernicola, or the Nelson cave spider, is a spider which is endemic to New Zealand. It has a body length and a leg span of up to ....
) with a 3 centimetres (1.2 in) body length and a leg span of up to 13 centimetres (5.1 in).
The Australian white-tailed spider
White-tailed spider
White-tailed spiders are medium-sized spiders native to southern and eastern Australia, and so named because of the whitish tips at the end of their abdomens. Common species are Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina. Both these species have been introduced to New Zealand.White-tailed spiders are...
, first recorded in New Zealand in 1886, has been falsely attributed as the cause of many necrotising
Necrosis
Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
spider bites.
The Avondale spider
Avondale spider
Delena cancerides, the flat huntsman spider or social huntsman spider, is a large, brown huntsman spider native to Australia. It has been introduced to New Zealand, where it is sometimes known as the Avondale spider...
, also from Australia, was accidentally introduced to New Zealand in the early 1920s in shipments of hardwood logs used for railway sleepers. The spiders, which are considered harmless to humans, have been collected for use in at least two films.
Very few New Zealand spiders have bites which can cause significant injury to humans, and of these, only one — the Katipo
Katipo
Latrodectus katipo, the katipo, is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. A member of the genus Latrodectus, it is related to the Australian redback spider, and the North American black widow spiders. The species is venomous to humans, capable of delivering a comparatively dangerous...
— is endemic. Katipo bites have been known to cause systemic effects, such as hypertension, seizure, or coma, though no deaths as a result of Katipo bites have been recorded for over 200 years. Its more dangerous close relative, the venomous Australian Redback spider, has established a foothold in some parts of New Zealand, notably in Taranaki and Central Otago
Central Otago
Central Otago is the inland part of the New Zealand region of Otago in the South Island. The area commonly known as Central Otago includes both the Central Otago District and the Queenstown-Lakes District to the west....
.
Fishing spiders
There are at least four spiders in the genus DolomedesDolomedes
Dolomedes is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all Dolomedes species are semi-aquatic, with the exception of the tree-dwelling D. albineus of the southwestern United States...
(the fishing spiders), species which have adapted to hunt on the surface of water.
Two of the fishing spiders are widespread on the two main islands of New Zealand. Dolomedes aquaticus
Dolomedes aquaticus
Dolomedes aquaticus is a fishing spider that lives and hunts along the gravel banks of unforested New Zealand rivers. It prefers open riverbanks where it lives under rocks, usually less than 5 metres from the river. Its colouring allows it to blend in with river stones...
grows up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) across and specialises in open, unforested riverbanks, and lives under rocks within 5 metres (16.4 ft) of the river. Another species of similar size, specialising in forested riverbanks, is also widespread on the mainland, but is as yet undescribed. It is known as Dolomedes III or the New Zealand Forest Fishing Spider. The largest of the New Zealand fishing spiders occurs in the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
, but has also not yet been named. The fourth species, D. minor, is not restricted to rivers. Known as the Nursery Web Spider, it makes white nursery webs on shrubs, but is still capable of fishing behaviour. Spinning webs and catching fish.
New Zealand Dolomedes species have yellow stripes on each side of their head (cephalothorax
Cephalothorax
The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head and thorax...
), but their overall colouring is adapted to conceal them in their chosen environment. D. aquaticus is the dark grey of the greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
rocks that line many New Zealand rivers, while D. III has a mottled pattern to match its forest home.
Species
Spider species in New Zealand include:- CelaeniaCelaeniaCelaenia is a spider genus in the family Araneidae.-Species:* Celaenia atkinsoni — Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand* Celaenia calotoides Rainbow, 1908 — New South Wales...
spp - Cryptachaea veruculata
- Delena cancerides (Avondale spider)
- Dolomedes aquaticusDolomedes aquaticusDolomedes aquaticus is a fishing spider that lives and hunts along the gravel banks of unforested New Zealand rivers. It prefers open riverbanks where it lives under rocks, usually less than 5 metres from the river. Its colouring allows it to blend in with river stones...
- Dolomedes minorDolomedes minorDolomedes minor, also known as the nursery web spider, is a large fishing spider endemic to New Zealand. Female spiders can have a legspan of over 60 mm....
- GradungulaGradungulaGradungula sorenseni, the only species in the spider genus Gradungula, occurs in New Zealand and the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.-Name:...
- GradungulidaeGradungulidaeThe Gradungulidae are a small spider family of Australia and New Zealand with 16 species in seven genera. They are medium to large three-clawed haplogyne spiders with two pairs of book-lungs ....
- HaurokoaHaurokoaHaurokoa is a genus of tengellid spiders found in New Zealand. It was identified by Forster and Wilton in 1973. The only described member species is Haurokoa filicicola....
- Hexathele hochstetteriHexathele hochstetteriHexathele hochstetteri, or the banded tunnelweb spider, is a large New Zealand spider in the family Hexathelidae. Despite its impressive size it is shy, and there are no records of these spiders causing bite problems in humans.-Distribution:...
- LamponidaeLamponidaeThe Lamponidae are a spider family with about 200 described species in 23 genera.-Distribution:Species from this family are generally endemic to Australia, with the genus Centrocalia endemic to New Caledonia, and two Lampona species also occurring in New Zealand...
- Latrodectus katipo (Katipo)
- ParadictynaParadictynaParadictyna is a spider genus endemic to New Zealand. They are cribellate spider of the family Dictynidae.-Species:* Paradictyna ilamia Forster, 1970* Paradictyna rufoflava...
spp - Paradictyna rufoflavaParadictyna rufoflavaParadictyna rufoflava is a spider of the genus Paradictyna endemic to New Zealand. It is a cribellate spider of the family Dictynidae. According to Spiders of New Zealand and Their Worldwide Kin, P. rufoflava is a hunting spider of variable coloring found in forests.-References: : Revision of the...
- Pholcus phalangioidesPholcus phalangioidesThe cellar spider or daddy longlegs , also known as the skull spider due to its cephalothorax looking like a human skull, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. Females have a body length of about 9 mm; males are slightly smaller. Its legs are about 5 or 6 times the length of its body...
- Poecilopachys australasiaPoecilopachys australasia-Introduction:An immigrant from Australia, these nocturnal spiders have been recorded in New Zealand since the early 1970s. The common name is the Two spined Spider. The female is about 8 mm in length and when mature has two spines or horns...
(Two-Spined spider) - Porrhothele antipodianaPorrhothele antipodianaThe black tunnelweb spider, Porrhothele antipodiana, is a spider found throughout much of New Zealand and the Chatham Islands in bush and gardens. Males are often found indoors during spring and summer when they leave their burrows to find mates. When found inside, they are typically near a source...
- Spelungula cavernicolaSpelungula cavernicolaSpelungula cavernicola, or the Nelson cave spider, is a spider which is endemic to New Zealand. It has a body length and a leg span of up to ....
(Nelson cave spider) - Steatoda capensisSteatoda capensisSteatoda capensis is a spider originating from South Africa. Its common names include the black cobweb spider, brown house spider, cupboard spider and due to its similarities to the katipo spider it is commonly known as the false katipo in New Zealand...
- Trite planicepsTrite planicepsTrite planiceps is a common jumping spider endemic to New Zealand and one of about 150 species of jumping spiders in New Zealand.-Description:...
- UliodonUliodonUliodon is a genus of spiders found in New Zealand and Australia. They are commonly referred to as vagrant spiders. Vagrant spiders vary in colour from dark brown to almost black, they typically have a body length of 20mm and a 50mm leg span. They are nocturnal hunters, feeding on ground dwelling...
spp (vagrant spiders)
External links
- Spiders in New Zealand at Landcare Research
- Spiders of New Zealand at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaThe Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
- Nursery Web Spiders from Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Website, July 2008
- Greenwood, Michelle, 2008. Aquatic Assassins: The Secret Life of Fishing Spiders. New Zealand Geographic, 91. (online summary)