Pholcomma turbotti

Pholcomma turbotti is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae. The species was first described by Brian John Marples in 1956. Formerly thought to be endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands to the northwest of New Zealand, the species has since been identified on Cuvier Island.

Taxonomy

The species was identified by Marples in 1956, who named the species Armigera turbotti, placing it in a novel genus. Marples was unsure if this species should be placed within the Pholcomatinae subfamily due to recent taxonomic changes in Pholcomma, and decided to create a new genus due to this ambiguity. Marples named the species after Graham Turbott, who had collected the original specimen from under stones on Manawatāwhi / Great Island. In 1962, Herbert Walter Levi and Lorna Rose Levi synonymised the genus Armigera, moving this species to Pholcomma.

Marples' original text reads as follows:

The species is endemic to New Zealand, known to occur on Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands. Since 1999, observations have been made on Cuvier Island.