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Waitkera
''Waitkera'' is a genus of spiders in the family Uloboridae. It was first described in 1979 by Opell. , it contains only one species, ''Waitkera waitakerensis'', found in New Zealand. __TOC__ Description Female ''Waitkera waitakerensis'' are 3-5mm in length whereas males are 3-4mm in length. The female may weigh about 9 mg. The carapace is grey with light lateral margins. The dorsal side of the abdomen is white with five to six posteromedian grey chevrons whilst the ventral side is grey with white book lung covers. There may also be three pairs of white spots above the cribellum. There is also a Northland ecotype that occupies different habitat and is larger than the rest of ''W. waitakerensis''. Distribution/Habitat ''Waitkera waitakerensis'' is restricted to the North Island of New Zealand. This species is the only member of the family Uloboridae endemic to New Zealand. The species is typically found in forests where horizontal orb-webs are constructed in understory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uloboridae
Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive enzymes, and then ingest the liquified body. Description They are medium to large spiders, with tree claws, which lack venomous glands. They build a spiral web using cribellate silk, which is quite fuzzy. They are usually dull in color, and are able to camouflage well into their surroundings. Usually having a humped opisthosoma, which is notoriously more humped than the carapace. Their rear eyes curving, in some species stronger than others. Hunting The hunting method of these spiders is quite unique among all animals in the kingdom. These spiders do not use an adhesive on their orb webs, but rather the very fine cribellate fibers on each strand of silk tend to ensnare prey. Since newly hatched uloborids lack the cribellum needed to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Lung
A book lung is a type of respiration organ used for atmospheric gas exchange that is present in many arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders. Each of these organs is located inside an open ventral abdominal, air-filled cavity (atrium) and connects with the surroundings through a small opening for the purpose of respiration. Structure and function Book lungs are not related to the lungs of modern land-dwelling vertebrates. Their name describes their structure and purpose. Stacks of alternating air pockets and tissue filled with hemolymph give them an appearance similar to a "folded" book. Their number varies from just one pair in most spiders to four pairs in scorpions. The unfolded "pages" (plates) of the book lung are filled with hemolymph. The folds maximize the surface exposed to air, and thereby maximize the amount of gas exchanged with the environment. In most species, no motion of the plates is needed to facilitate this kind of respiration. Occasionally absent Sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cribellum
Cribellum literally means "little sieve", and in biology the term generally applies to anatomical structures in the form of tiny perforated plates. In certain groups of diatoms it refers to microscopically punctured regions of the frustule, or outer layer. In certain groups of spider species, so-called cribellate spiders, the cribellum is a silk spinning organ. Unlike the usual spinnerets of spiders, the cribellum consists of one or more plates covered in thousands of tiny spigots, tiny holes that hardly project from the surface, in contrast to the elongated spigots that project from spinnerets. These minute spigots produce extremely fine fibers, merely tens of nanometres thick, which are combed out by the spider's calamistrum, producing silk with a woolly texture. The fibers are so small in diameter that they are strongly subject to Van der Waals forces. In addition, the fibres have a surface that absorbs waxes from the epicuticle of insect prey on contact. This creates a po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northland Region
The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population centre is the city of Whangārei, and the largest town is Kerikeri. At the 2018 New Zealand census, Northland recorded a population growth spurt of 18.1% since the previous 2013 census, placing it as the fastest growing region in New Zealand, ahead of other strong growth regions such as the Bay of Plenty (2nd with 15%) and Waikato (3rd with 13.5%). Geography The Northland Region occupies the northern 80% (265 km) of the 330 km Northland Peninsula, the southernmost part of which is in the Auckland Region. Stretching from a line at which the peninsula narrows to a width of just 15 km a little north of the town of Wellsford, Northland Region extends north to the tip of the Northland Peninsula, covering an area of 13,940&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecotype
In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: ''οίκος'' = home and ''τύπος'' = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population, or race within a species, which is genotypically adapted to specific environmental conditions. Typically, though ecotypes exhibit phenotypic differences (such as in morphology or physiology) stemming from environmental heterogeneity, they are capable of interbreeding with other geographically adjacent ecotypes without loss of fertility or vigor. ''Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems'' by Begon, Townsend, Harper, Blackwell Publishing 4th ed. (2006), p.5,6,7,8''Environmental Encyclopedia'' by Bortman, Brimblecombe, Mary Ann Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, Freedman - 3rd ed., p.435, "Ecotype" Definition An ecotype is a variant in which the phenotypic differences are too few or too subtle to warrant being classified as a subspecies. These different variants ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest island. The world's 28th-most-populous island, Te Ika-a-Māui has a population of accounting for approximately % of the total residents of New Zealand. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, and New Zealand's capital city Wellington, which is located at the south-west tip of the island. Naming and usage Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotypic Araneomorphae Genera
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. In contrast, an oligotypic taxon contains more than one but only a very few subordinate taxa. Examples Just as the term ''monotypic'' is used to describe a taxon including only one subdivision, the contained taxon can also be referred to as monotypic within the higher-level taxon, e.g. a genus monotypic within a family. Some examples of monotypic groups are: Plants * In the order Amborellales, there is only one family, Amborellaceae and there is only one genus, '' Amborella'', and in this genus there is only one species, namely ''Amborella trichopoda.' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
