''Oxyopes gracilipes'' is a species of
lynx spider
Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ...
that is native to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Taxonomy
''Oxyopes gracilipes'' was first described in 1849 as ''Sphasus gracilipes.'' The species was described again in 1878 as ''Oxyopes elegans.'' In 1885,
Arthur Urquhart described the spider again as ''Sphasus gregarius.'' In 1892, Urquhart moved ''S. gregarius'' to the ''
Oxyopes
''Oxyopes'' is a genus of lynx spiders found worldwide. It includes arounds 300 species and is classified under the lynx spider family Oxyopidae. Like other lynx spiders, they are easily recognizable by the six larger eyes arranged hexagonally on ...
'' genus.
[Urquhart, A. T. (1892a). Catalogue of the described species of New Zealand Araneidae. ''Transactions of the New Zealand Institute'' 24: 220-230.] In 1998, ''S. gracilipes'' was moved to the ''Oxyopes'' genus and ''O. gregarius'' was recognized as a synonym of this species.
[Vink, C. & Sirvid, P. J. (1998). The Oxyopidae (lynx spiders) of New Zealand. ''New Zealand Entomologist'' 21: 1-9.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2058197
Oxyopidae
Spiders of New Zealand
Spiders described in 1849