Kauai cave wolf spider
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| Kaua'i Cave Wolf Spider | ||||||||||||||||
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| Adelocosa anops Gertsch, 1973 |
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The Kaua‘i cave wolf spider, also known to local residents as the "blind wolf spider", is only known to occur in a few caves in a 10.5 km² lava flow in the Koloa-Poipu region of Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands, and only six populations are known to exist. While their nearest surface-dwelling relatives have large eyes, this species has completely lost its eyes. They reach a body length of about 20mm, are reddish brown and completely harmless to people. Unlike most wolf spiders, it produces only 15 to 30 eggs per clutch. The female carries the egg sac in her mouthparts until the spiderlings hatch.
One of its primary prey species is the Kaua‘i Cave Amphipod (Spelaeorchestia koloana), which is only known from nine populations and reaches about 10mm in length. These feed on decomposing plant matter. Like the wolf spider, they are blind, although they do have eyes. Both species were discovered in 1971. Counts have never documented more than 30 spiders or 80 amphipods.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Kaua‘i Cave Arthropods (with picture of spider and amphipod)
- Hawaii's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (2005): Kaua‘i Cave Arthropods PDF
- Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.
