Uliodon

Uliodon
A Uliodon species
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Chelicerata
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Infraorder:Araneomorphae
Family:Zoropsidae
Genus:Uliodon
L. Koch, 1873

Uliodon is a genus of spiders found in New Zealand and possibly 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 invertebrates. During the day they are found under logs and rocks.[1][2]

Taxonomy

As of October 2015, three or possibly four species of Uliodon are accepted. In 2003, Robert Raven and Kylie Stumkat considered that the genus was endemic to New Zealand, transferring all the Australian species they reviewed to other genera. They recognized only three species, all endemic to New Zealand:[3]

  • Uliodon albopunctatus L. Koch, 1873 – New Zealand
  • Uliodon cervinus L. Koch, 1873 – New Zealand
  • Uliodon frenatus (L. Koch, 1873) – New Zealand

A further species, found in Australia and not reviewed by Raven and Stumkat, is listed by the World Spider Catalog as of October 2015:[4]

  • Uliodon ferrugineus (L. Koch, 1873) – Australia

Species transferred to other genera include:[4]

  • Uliodon australiensis (L. Koch, 1873) – Mituliodon tarantulinus (L. Koch, 1873)
  • Uliodon maritimus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883) – Amaurobioides maritima O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883
  • Uliodon marmoreus (Hogg, 1896) – Mitzoruga marmorea (Hogg, 1896)
  • Uliodon oswaldi (Lenz, 1891) – Zorodictyna oswaldi (Lenz, 1891)
  • Uliodon tarantulinus (L. Koch, 1873) – Mituliodon tarantulinus (L. Koch, 1873)
  • Uliodon torvus (L. Koch, 1873) – Mituliodon tarantulinus (L. Koch, 1873)

References

  1. ↑ Clunie, L. (2004). "Bug identification - vagrant spider". Landcare Research New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "Vagrant spiders". Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Raven, R.J.; Stumkat, K. (2003). "Problem solving in the spider families Miturgidae, Ctenidae and Psechridae (Araneae) in Australia and New Zealand" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology. 31: 105–121. doi:10.1636/0161-8202(2003)031[0105:psitsf]2.0.co;2. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Gen. Uliodon L. Koch, 1873". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
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