| Forsteropsalis pureora | |
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| Male Forsteropsalis pureora | |
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| Female Forsteropsalis pureora | |
Scientific classification 
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| 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. This species is endemic to New Zealand, found in the North Island. They are found in native forest, often resting on vegetation or stream banks.
Description
This species is highly sexually dimorphic, with males and females differing in morphology. Males have enlarged chelicerae used to fight other males in competition. The pinching claw of the chelicera is used to grab and pin down the opponent. Males may be one of three morphs that differ in chelicerae size, chelicerae shape, and body size. Males and females also differ in color, known as sexual dichromatism. Males are brown to black with an orange stripe running dorsally down the body. There is also an orange horseshoe-shaped marking around the eyes. In the original species description, these markings are inaccurately described as white from the aged bleached specimens in ethanol. 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.
Diet and predators
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. They are highly opportunistic and have been found resting under spider webs collecting discarded pieces of prey as they fall from the web.
New Zealand harvestmen are eaten by various vertebrate species, including introduced mammals (possums, hedgehogs, rats, stoats), bats, birds, frogs, tuatara, and fish (kōaro). Invertebrate predators such as spiders also prey upon harvestmen and cannibalism occurs within the Neopilionidae. Forsteropsalis pureora has been observed being eaten by Uliodon sp. vagrant spiders and Cambridgea sp. sheetweb spiders.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Powell, E. (2020). The evolution and ecology of weapon polymorphic New Zealand harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones, Neopilionidae) (Doctoral dissertation, ResearchSpace@ Auckland).
| Taxon identifiers | |
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| Forsteropsalis pureora | |