Periegops suterii
{{Short description|Species of spider}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Periegops suterii 311469976.jpg
| image_caption = Periegops suterii found in the Banks Peninsula, Canterbury
| status = REL
| status_system = NZTCS
| genus = Periegops
| species = suterii
| authority = (Urquhart, 1892)
}}
Periegops suterii is a species of spider in the genus Periegops that is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand.Vink, CJ; Dupérré, N; Malumbres-Olarte, J 2013. Periegopidae (Arachnida: Araneae). Fauna of New Zealand 70, 41 pages.
Taxonomy
Periegops suteria was first described in 1892 by Arthur T Urquhart and was placed in the Segestria genus. Specimens for this description were collected from Port Hills near Christchurch.Urquhart, A. T. (1892b). Descriptions of new species of Araneidae. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 24: 230-253. Independently, Eugene Simon described Periegops hirsutus in 1893, which was also the first description of the Periegops genus.Simon, E. (1893a). Histoire naturelle das araignées. Paris 1, 257-488. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973 In 1935, Segestria suteria was moved to the Periegops genus by Elizabeth Bangs Bryant after examining types sent to her from the Canterbury Museum.Bryant, E. B. (1935c). Notes on some of Urquhart's species of spiders. Records of the Canterbury Museum 4: 53-70. In 1946, P. hirsutus was recognized as a synonym of P. suterii by George Chamberlain.{{cite q|Q58676631}} The type specimen is currently considered missing.
Description
Like all members of the Periegops genus, P. suterii has six eyes. The carapace is a red-orange colour on the anterior end but is orange on the posterior end. The abdomen has a black brown chevron pattern. The first pair of legs are orange brown with light orange ends, the other pairs of legs are yellow brown and darker at the proximal end. Chelicerae are red brown. Male body length is 6.6 mm and female body length is 8.1 mm.
Habitat and distribution
Periegops suterii occurs in forests with well drained soil and deep leaf layers. Within these habitats, they may be found under logs, rocks and leaves. They can occur in podocarp and beech forest. P. suterii is only known to occur in Banks Peninsula and Riccarton Bush in Canterbury. Within these locations, P. suterii has a patchy distribution. The distribution of the species suggests it could be considered a relict species.Sirvid, P. J.; Zhang, Z.-Q.; Harvey, M. S.; Rhode, B. E.; Cook, D. R.; Bartsch, I.; Staples, D. A. 2011: Chelicerata: horseshoe crabs, arachnids, sea spiders. Pp. 50–89 in D. P. Gordon (ed.), New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume Two: Kingdom Animalia. Chaetognatha, Ecdysozoa, Ichnofossils. Christchurch, Canterbury University Press.
Behaviour
Periegops suterii isn't known to build webs for prey capture, but rather web is used as drag lines and to build silk retreats. P. suterii is likely a fast moving nocturnal hunter.
Females have been found with two to three males with them, which may imply that the female has a way of attracting males.
Conservation status
Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Relict" with the qualifiers of "Conservation Dependent", "Range Restricted" and "Biologically Sparse".{{Cite journal |last=Sirvid |first=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}}
Gallery
File:Periegops suterii 311471639.jpg
File:Periegops suterii 106203252.jpg
File:Periegops suterii 169315710.jpg
File:Periegops suterii 171260554.jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Spiders described in 1892