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Dolomedes Schauinslandi
''Dolomedes schauinslandi'' or the Rangatira spider is a large spider of the family Nursery web spider, Pisauridae. It is only found on South East Island (Rangatira), Houruakopara and Mangere Islands in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's largest and rarest spiders. Description This large ''Dolomedes'' spider was first described by Eugène Simon in 1899 as "one of the biggest and most robust species of the genus ''Dolomedes''". This species demonstrates sexual dimorphism, with male body lengths of and females of . Both males and females are substantially larger than other New Zealand ''Dolomedes'' species. The carapace and legs are red-brown with orange stripes on the centre and sides of the abdomen. They have bright eye shine and can be spotted at night from 20 metres away. Ecology ''D. schauinslandi'' is active at night in forest and scrubland habitat, where it hunts for wētā on the forest floor or tree trunks. Its predators may include mice and wek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugène Simon
Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4,000 species. Work on spiders His most significant work was ''Histoire Naturelle des Araignées'' (1892–1903), an encyclopedic treatment of the spider genera of the world. It was published in two volumes of more than 1000 pages each, and the same number of drawings by Simon. Working at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, it took Simon 11 years to complete, while working at the same time on devising a taxonomic scheme that embraced the known taxa. Simon described a total of 4,650 species, and as of 2013 about 3,790 species are still considered valid. The International Society of Arachnology offers a Simon Award recognising lifetime achievement. The Eocene fossil spider species '' Cenotextricella simoni'' was named in his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weka
The weka, also known as the Māori hen or woodhen (''Gallirallus australis'') is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Gallirallus''. Four subspecies are recognized but only two (northern/southern) are supported by genetic evidence. The weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit. Weka usually lay eggs between August and January; both sexes help to incubate. Description Weka are large rails. They are predominantly rich brown mottled with black and grey; the brown shade varies from pale to dark depending on subspecies. The male is the larger sex at in length and in weight. Females measure in length and weigh . The reduced wingspan ranges from . The relatively large, reddish-brown beak is about long, stout and tapered, and used as a weapon. The pointed tail is near-constantly being flicked, a sign of unease characteristic of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Fauna Of New Zealand
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiders Of New Zealand
New Zealand has 1157 described spider species, with an estimated total fauna of 2000 species. Over 97 per cent are endemic, and the rest have been introduced through human activities or were natural wind-borne introductions. The New Zealand spider with the largest leg span is the Nelson cave spider (''Spelungula cavernicola''), with a leg span of up to and a body length. The Australian white-tailed spider, first recorded in New Zealand in 1886, has been falsely attributed as the cause of many necrotising spider bites. The flat huntsman spider (''Delena cancerides''), also from Australia, and called the Avondale spider in New Zealand, was accidentally introduced in the early 1920s, possibly in shipments of hardwood logs used for railway sleepers.Rowell and Avilés (1995). "Sociality in a bark-dwelling huntsman spider from Australia, Delena cancerides Walckenaer (Araneae: Sparassidae)". ''Insectes Sociaux''. Volume 42(3): 287-302 The huntsman spiders, which are considered harmle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and current-affairs network, RNZ National, and a classical-music and jazz network, RNZ Concert, with full government funding from NZ on Air. Since 2014, the organisation's focus has been to transform RNZ from a radio broadcaster to a multimedia outlet, increasing its production of digital content in audio, video, and written forms. The organisation plays a central role in New Zealand public broadcasting. The New Zealand Parliament fully funds its AM network, used in part for the broadcast of parliamentary proceedings. RNZ has a statutory role under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to act as a "lifeline utility" in emergency situations. It is also responsible for an international service (known as RNZ Pacific); this is broadcas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballooning (spider)
Ballooning, sometimes called kiting, is a process by which spiders, and some other small invertebrates, move through the air by releasing one or more gossamer threads to catch the wind, causing them to become airborne at the mercy of air currents and electric fields. A 2018 study concluded that electric fields provide enough force to lift spiders in the air, and possibly elicit ballooning behavior. This is primarily used by spiderlings to disperse; however, larger individuals have been observed doing so as well. The spider climbs to a high point and takes a stance with its abdomen to the sky, releasing fine silk threads from its spinneret until it becomes aloft. Journeys achieved vary from a few metres to hundreds of kilometres. Even atmospheric samples collected from balloons at five kilometres altitude and ships mid-ocean have reported spider landings. Ballooning can be dangerous (due to predators, and due to the unpredictable nature of long-distance ballooning, which may brin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nursery Web Spider
Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890. They resemble wolf spiders (Lycosidae) except for several key differences. Wolf spiders have two very prominent eyes in addition to the other six, while a nursery web spider's eyes are all about the same size. Additionally, female nursery web spiders carry their egg sacs with their jaws and pedipalps instead of attaching them to their spinnerets as wolf spiders do. When the eggs are about to hatch, a female spider builds a nursery "tent", places her egg sac inside, and stands guard outside, hence the family's common name. Like the wolf spiders, however, the nursery web spiders are roaming hunters that don't use webs for catching prey. Species occur throughout the world except for extremely dry or cold environments, and are common just about everywhere. Many can walk on the surface of still bodies of water and may even dive beneath the surface temporarily to escape enemies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelicerae
The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarly to pincers. Some chelicerae, such as those found on nearly all spiders, are hollow and contain (or are connected to) venom glands, and are used to inject venom into prey or a perceived threat. In ''Pisaurina mira'', also known as the nursery web spider, the chelicerae are utilized to snatch the prey once it becomes within reach, facilitating the "sit-and-wait ambush predator" behavior. Both pseudoscorpions and harvestmen have structures on their chelicerae that are used for grooming (papillae in pseudoscorpions, cheliceral teeth in Opiliones). Types Chelicerae can be divided into three kinds: jackknife chelicerae, scissor chelicerae, and 3-segmented chelate chelicerae. Jackknife chelicerae The jackknife chelicera is subchelate (with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitt Island
Pitt Island is the second largest island in the Chatham Islands, Chatham Archipelago, New Zealand. It is called ''Rangiauria'' in Māori language, Māori and ''Rangiaotea'' in ''Moriori language, Moriori.Government of New Zealand, Dept. of Conservation (1999) Chatham IslandsConservation Management Strategy map 6. Retrieved 13 July 2012. Pitt Island has an area of . It lies about to the east of New Zealand's main islands, and about to the southeast of Chatham Island, from which it is separated by Pitt Strait. The island is hilly; its highest point (Waihere Head) rises to above sea level. , Pitt Island had a population of about 38 people. Pitt Island's Kahuitara Point is the first populated location on earth to observe a sunrise in each new year, based on local time zone. History Pitt Island was originally inhabited by the Moriori people, Moriori, the indigenous peoples of the Chatham Islands, who called it ''Rangiaotea'' or ''Rangihaute''. Their archaeology, archaeologic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Floor
The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface. Although principally composed of non-living organic material, the forest floor also teems with a wide variety of fauna and flora. It is one of the richest components of the ecosystem from the standpoint of biodiversity because of the large number of decomposers and predators present, mostly belonging to invertebrates, fungi, algae, bacteria, and archaea. Certain (adapted) plants may be more apparent in tropical forests, where rates of metabolism and species diversity are much higher than in colder climates. The major compartments for the storage of organic matter and nutrients within systems are the living vegetation, forest floor, and soil. The forest floor serves as a bridge between the ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 50,356 spider species in 132 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel, however, as there is currently neither paleontological nor embryological evidence that spiders ever had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wētā
Wētā (also spelt weta) is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world. Generally nocturnal, most small species are carnivores and scavengers while the larger species are herbivorous. Wētā are preyed on by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered. Name Wētā is a loanword, from the Māori-language word ''wētā'', which refers to this whole group of large insects; some types of wētā have a specific Māori name. In New Zealand English, it is spelled either "weta" or "wētā", although the form with macrons is increasingly common in formal writing, as the Māori word ''weta'' (without macrons) instead means "filth or excrement". General characteristics Many wētā are large by insect standards and some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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