Desis marina

Desis marina, the intertidal spider, is a spider species found in New Zealand, New Caledonia, and the Chatham Islands.

Intertidal spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Desidae
Genus: Desis
Species:
D. marina
Binomial name
Desis marina
(Hector, 1877)
Synonyms
  • Argyroneta marina Hector, 1877
  • Desis robsoni Powell, 1879
  • Robsonia marina (Hector, 1877)

It was first described by James Hector in 1878.[1]

Taxonomy

Previously, specimens of Desis marina had been misidentified as Dandrigea dysderoides in 1849.[2] In 1877, it was described for the first time as Argyroneta marina.[1] It was independently described again in 1879 as Desis robsoni.[3] In 1880, Octavius Pickard-Cambridge transferred A. marina to the Robsonia genus. In 1895, Robsonia marina was transferred to the Desis genus as Desis marinus.[4] However, Desis is feminine, so the name was corrected to Desis marina.[5] D. marina was redescribed in 1970 and 1990.[6][7]

Description

Desis marina is 8 to 10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long, with a brown carapace and a light grey abdomen. Its chelicerae are proportionally large. This species is notable for its complex branched tracheal systems and its adaptations to a marine environment.

Distribution and habitat

Desis marina can be found in New Zealand (Including the Chatham Islands) and New Caledonia. This species is found in rocky shore intertidal zones. It builds silk retreats in seashells, tubeworm burrows, and bull kelp holdfasts, which it seals shut after entering.[8] In these environments, the spiders and their silk retreats are regularly submerged in sea water.[9] D. marina is nocturnal.[8]

Diet

This species is known to emerge and feed during low tide, eating amphipods, marine isopods and other small invertebrates.[9]

Physiology

When in their silk retreats, Desis marina may be submerged for up to 19 days. To aid in surviving this long underwater, D. marina has a lower respiration rate than other spiders of similar size, which enables it to survive on the small amount of air in its retreat.[10]

Life history

Desis marina reproduce yearly. Eggs are laid in the females retreat from September to January, with a recruitment period between March and April. All spiders are hatched by May. Egg development takes roughly two months and juveniles remain in the females retreat for another two months (The time required for the first two instars to develop).[11] It takes juveniles roughly 4-5 months of reach maturity.[12] Females can potentially live for up to two years, so may be able to reproduce a second clutch of eggs.[11]

References
  1. Hector, J. 1878. Note on a marine spider. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 10:300.
  2. White, A. (1849). Descriptions of apparently new species of Aptera from New Zealand. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 17: 3-6. (reprinted in Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (2) 5: 50-53, 1850)
  3. Powell, L. (1879). On Desis Robsoni, a marine spider, from Cape Campbell. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 11: 263-268.
  4. Pocock, R. I. (1895b). Description of two new spiders obtained by Messrs J. J. Quelch and F. MacConnel on the summit of Mount Roraima, in Demerara; with a note upon the systematic position of the genus Desis. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (6) 16: 139-143.
  5. Lehtinen, P. T. (1967). Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha. Annales Zoologici Fennici 4: 199-468. [second pdf: index and outline by V. D. Roth (unpubl.)]
  6. Forster, R. R. (1970b). The spiders of New Zealand. Part III. Otago Museum Bulletin 3: 1-184.
  7. Coddington, J. A. (1990). Ontogeny and homology in the male palpus of orb-weaving spiders and their relatives, with comments on phylogeny (Araneoclada: Araneoidea, Deinopoidea). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 496: 1-52.
  8. Vink, C., McQuillan, B., Simpson, A., & Correa-Garhwal, S. (2017). The marine spider, Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae): new observations and localities. The Weta, 51, 71-79. Retrieved from http://publications.ento.org.nz/index.php/weta/article/view/167
  9. Forster, R., Forster, L. 1999. Spiders of New Zealand and their World-wide Kin. University of Otago Press, New Zealand.
  10. Mcqueen, D. J.; Pannell, L. K.; McLay, C. L. (1983-10-01). "Respiration rates for the intertidal spider Desis marina (Hector)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 10 (4): 393–399. doi:10.1080/03014223.1983.10423934. ISSN 0301-4223.
  11. Mclay, C. L.; Hayward, T. L. (1987). "Reproductive biology of the intertidal spider Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae) on a New Zealand rocky shore". Journal of Zoology. 211 (2): 357–372. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb01539.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
  12. McLay, C. L.; Hayward, T. L. (1987-01-01). "Population structure and use of Durvillaea antarctica holdfasts by the intertidal spider Desis marina (Araneae: Desidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 14 (1): 29–42. doi:10.1080/03014223.1987.10422679. ISSN 0301-4223.


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