Desis marina

Previously, specimens of Desis marina had been misidentified as Dandrigea dysderoides in 1849.White, A. (1849). Descriptions of apparently new species of Aptera from New Zealand. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 17: 3-6. (reprinted in Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (2) 5: 50-53, 1850) In 1877, it was described for the first time as Argyroneta marina. It was independently described again in 1879 as Desis robsoni.Powell, L. (1879). On Desis Robsoni, a marine spider, from Cape Campbell. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 11: 263-268. In 1880, Octavius Pickard-Cambridge transferred A. marina to the Robsonia genus. In 1895, Robsonia marina was transferred to the Desis genus as Desis marinus.Pocock, R. I. (1895b). Description of two new spiders obtained by Messrs J. J. Quelch and F. MacConnel on the summit of Mount Roraima, in Demerara; with a note upon the systematic position of the genus Desis. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (6) 16: 139-143. However, Desis is feminine, so the name was corrected to Desis marina.Lehtinen, P. T. (1967). Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha. Annales Zoologici Fennici 4: 199-468. [second pdf: index and outline by V. D. Roth (unpubl.)] D. marina was redescribed in 1970 and 1990.Forster, R. R. (1970b). The spiders of New Zealand. Part III. Otago Museum Bulletin 3: 1-184.Coddington, J. A. (1990). Ontogeny and homology in the male palpus of orb-weaving spiders and their relatives, with comments on phylogeny (Araneoclada: Araneoidea, Deinopoidea). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 496: 1-52.

Desis marina is {{convert|8|to(-)|10|mm|abbr=on}} long, with a brown carapace and a light grey abdomen. Its chelicerae are proportionally large. This species is notable for its complex branched tracheal systems and its adaptations to a marine environment.

Desis marina can be found in New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) and New Caledonia. This species is found in rocky shore intertidal zones. It builds silk retreats in seashells, tubeworm burrows, and bull kelp holdfasts, which it seals shut after entering.Vink, C., McQuillan, B., Simpson, A., & Correa-Garhwal, S. (2017). The marine spider, Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae): new observations and localities. The Weta, 51, 71–79. Retrieved from http://publications.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/167 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220084512/http://publications.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/167 |date=2019-12-20 }} In these environments, the spiders and their silk retreats are regularly submerged in sea water.Forster, R., Forster, L. 1999. Spiders of New Zealand and their World-wide Kin. University of Otago Press, New Zealand. D. marina is nocturnal.

This species is known to emerge and feed during low tide, eating amphipods, marine isopods and other small invertebrates.

When in their silk retreats, Desis marina may be submerged for up to 19 days. To aid in surviving this long underwater, D. marina has a lower respiration rate than other spiders of similar size, which enables it to survive on the small amount of air in its retreat.{{Cite journal|last=Mcqueen|first=D. J.|last2=Pannell|first2=L. K.|last3=McLay|first3=C. L.|date=1983-10-01|title=Respiration rates for the intertidal spider Desis marina (Hector)|journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology|volume=10|issue=4|pages=393–399|doi=10.1080/03014223.1983.10423934|issn=0301-4223|doi-access=free}}

Desis marina reproduce yearly. Eggs are laid in the females retreat from September to January, with a recruitment period between March and April. All spiders are hatched by May. Egg development takes roughly two months and juveniles remain in the females retreat for another two months (the time required for the first two instars to develop).{{Cite journal|last=Mclay|first=C. L.|last2=Hayward|first2=T. L.|date=1987|title=Reproductive biology of the intertidal spider Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae) on a New Zealand rocky shore|journal=Journal of Zoology|language=en|volume=211|issue=2|pages=357–372|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb01539.x|issn=1469-7998}} It takes juveniles roughly 4–5 months to reach maturity.{{Cite journal|last=McLay|first=C. L.|last2=Hayward|first2=T. L.|date=1987-01-01|title=Population structure and use of Durvillaea antarctica holdfasts by the intertidal spider Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae)|journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology|volume=14|issue=1|pages=29–42|doi=10.1080/03014223.1987.10422679|issn=0301-4223|doi-access=}} Females can potentially live for up to two years, so may be able to reproduce a second clutch of eggs.

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Not Threatened" with the qualifiers of "Climate Impact" and "Secure Overseas".{{Cite journal |last1=Sirvid |first1=P. J. |last2=Vink |first2=C. J. |last3=Fitzgerald |first3=B. M. |last4=Wakelin |first4=M. D. |last5=Rolfe |first5=J. |last6=Michel |first6=P. |date=2020-01-01 |title=Conservation status of New Zealand Araneae (spiders), 2020 |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs34entire.pdf |journal=New Zealand Threat Classification Series |language=English |volume=34 |pages=1–37}}

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{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Desis marina}}

• [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=878108 Itis report]
• Desis marina discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, [https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018973936/critter-of-the-week-intertidal-spider 7 February 2025].

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Category:Desidae

Category:Spiders of New Zealand

Category:Spiders of New Caledonia

Category:Spiders described in 1878