Dunstanoides hesperis

Dunstanoides hesperis
Conservation status
Not Threatened (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Desidae
Genus:	Dunstanoides
Species:	D. hesperis
Binomial name
Dunstanoides hesperis (Forster & Wilton, 1973)

Dunstanoides hesperis is a species of Desidae that is endemic to New Zealand. ^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described by Ray Forster and Cecil Wilton in 1973 from female and male specimens. The holotype is stored in Otago Museum. ^[1]

Description

The female is recorded at 3.65mm in length whereas the male is 3.55mm. The carapace is coloured pale cream. The legs are uniform in colour. The abdomen has a chevron pattern dorsally. ^[1]

Distribution

This species is only known from Westland, New Zealand. ^[1]

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Not Threatened" with the qualifier of "Data Poor: Size" and "Data Poor: Trend". ^[2]

References

1. Forster, R. R. & Wilton, C. L. (1973). The spiders of New Zealand. Part IV. Otago Museum Bulletin4: 1-309.
2. Sirvid, P. J.; Vink, C. J.; Fitzgerald, B. M.; Wakelin, M. D.; Rolfe, J.; Michel, P. (2020-01-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand Araneae (spiders), 2020" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 34: 1–37.