Ascuta leith


Ascuta leith is a species of Orsolobidae spider of the genus Ascuta. The species is endemic to New Zealand.

Taxonomy

This species was described in 1985 by Ray Forster and Norman Platnick from a single female specimen collected in Otago. The species name refers to the site it was collected from. The holotype is stored in Tūhura [Otago Museum|Otago Museum].

Description

The female is recorded at in length. The carapace and abdomen are patterned dorsally.

Distribution

This species is only known from Leith Saddle in Otago, New Zealand.

Conservation status

Under the New [Zealand Threat Classification System], this species is listed as "Naturally Uncommon" with the qualifiers of "Data Poor: Size" and "Data Poor: Trend".