Forsteropsalis pureora

Forsteropsalis pureora
Male Forsteropsalis pureora
Female Forsteropsalis pureora
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Opiliones
Family:	Neopilionidae
Genus:	Forsteropsalis
Species:	F. pureora
Binomial name
Forsteropsalis pureora Taylor, 2013

Forsteropsalis pureora is a species of long-legged harvestman in the family Neopilionidae.[1] This species is endemic to New Zealand, found in the North Island.[1] They are found in native forest, often resting on vegetation or stream banks.[2]

Description

Adult male Forsteropsalis pureora. This is a small-bodied gamma male with small chelicerae.

This species is highly sexually dimorphic, with males and females differing in morphology.[3] Males have enlarged chelicerae used to fight other males in competition.[3] The pinching claw of the chelicera is used to grab and pin down the opponent.[3] Males may be one of three morphs that differ in chelicerae size, chelicerae shape, and body size.[3] Males and females also differ in color, known as sexual dichromatism.[4] Males are brown to black with an orange stripe running dorsally down the body.[1][4] There is also an orange horseshoe-shaped marking around the eyes.[1][4] In the original species description, these markings are inaccurately described as white from the aged bleached specimens in ethanol.[1][4] The orange markings may range from dull yellow-orange to dark red-orange. Females are more cryptic in color with a mottled brown and black pattern and light yellow-orange markings. Juveniles have the same coloration as mature females.[4]

Diet and predators

A subadult male Forsteropsalis pureora

This species is a generalist opportunistic omnivore. In the wild, they have been observed eating a variety of insect prey (e.g., wētā, flies, beetles, dragonflies, caterpillars, adult moths, stink bugs, and cockroaches), spiders, and other invertebrates (e.g., amphipods), both captured live and scavenged.[2] They are highly opportunistic and have been found resting under spider webs collecting discarded pieces of prey as they fall from the web.[2]

New Zealand harvestmen are eaten by various vertebrate species, including introduced mammals (possums, hedgehogs, rats, stoats), bats, birds, frogs, tuatara, and fish (kōaro).[2] Invertebrate predators such as spiders also prey upon harvestmen and cannibalism occurs within the Neopilionidae.[2] Forsteropsalis pureora has been observed being eaten by Uliodon sp. vagrant spiders and Cambridgea sp. sheetweb spiders.[2]

References

1. Taylor, Christopher (2013-02-28). "Corrigenda: Taylor CK (2013) Further notes on New Zealand Enantiobuninae (Opiliones, Neopilionidae), with the description of a new genus and two new species. ZooKeys 263: 59–73". ZooKeys (273): 107. doi:10.3897/zookeys.273.4857. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 3677368.
2. Powell, Erin C.; Painting, Christina J.; Hickey, Anthony J.; Machado, Glauco; Holwell, Gregory I. (2021-05-11). "Diet, predators, and defensive behaviors of New Zealand harvestmen (Opiliones: Neopilionidae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 49 (1). doi:10.1636/joa-s-20-002. ISSN 0161-8202.
3. Powell, Erin C; Painting, Christina J; Hickey, Anthony J; Holwell, Gregory I (2020-04-25). "Defining an intrasexual male weapon polymorphism in a New Zealand harvestman (Opiliones: Neopilionidae) using traditional and geometric morphometrics". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 130 (2): 395–409. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaa040. ISSN 0024-4066.
4. Powell, E. (2020). The evolution and ecology of weapon polymorphic New Zealand harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones, Neopilionidae) (Doctoral dissertation, ResearchSpace@ Auckland).