Anoteropsis aerescens is a species of wolf spiders that is endemic to New Zealand.Lycosidae (Arachnida: Araneae) / C. J. Vink – Lincoln, Canterbury, N.Z. : Manaaki Whenua Press, 2002. (Fauna of New Zealand, ; no. 44).
Taxonomy This species was first described as Lycosa aerescens in 1887 by Peter Goyen from male and female specimens.Goyen, P. (1887). Descriptions of new spiders. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 19(1886): 201-212. It has undergone numerous redescriptions.Roewer, C. F. (1955). Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940, bzw. 1954. 2. Band, Abt. a (Lycosaeformia, Dionycha [excl. Salticiformia]). 2. Band, Abt. b (Salticiformia, Cribellata) (Synonyma-Verzeichnis, Gesamtindex). Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1751 pp. Dalmas, R. de (1917). Araignées de Nouvelle-Zélande. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 86: 317-430.Urquhart, A. T. (1892). Descriptions of new species of Araneidae. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 24: 230-253. The most recent redescription was in 2002. The species name aerescens is derived from Latin. Aeramen means bronze.
Description The male is recorded at 5.2-10.3mm in length whereas the female is 5.9-12.5mm.The carapace is coloured dark brown with whitish hairs. The legs are dark brown with yellow brown markings. The abdomen is grey with black and yellowish markings dorsally. It can be distinguished from all other Anoteropsis species by the shape of the median apophysis of the male bulb and the external sclerites of the female epigyne, especially the wide median septum.
Distribution This species is widespread throughout New Zealand.
Conservation status Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Not Threatened".
References
External links Research on New Zealand wolf spiders (see page 21), Fauna of New Zealand, 2002.