Species

BackLepthyphantes mauli Wunderlich, 1992

Lepthyphantes mauli Wunderlich, 1992

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Family: Linyphiidae
LC Least Concern
IUCN Red List Status:

Countries of Occurrence:
Portugal - Madeira

Archipelago(s):
Madeira

Assessor/s:
Luis Crespo
Mario Boieiro
Paulo A.V. Borges
Pedro Cardoso
Cardoso, P., Crespo, L.C., Silva, I., Borges, P. & Boieiro, M.

Reviewer/s:
Henriques, S. & Russell, N.

Contributor/s:

Facilitators / Compilers/s:


Assessment Rationale:

Lepthyphantes mauli is endemic to Madeira Island, Portugal. This species has a restricted geographic range with a maximum estimate of extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) of ca 500 km². However, Lepthyphantes mauli is assessed as Least Concern (LC), since the preferred habitat of the species, humid laurisilva forest, is not experiencing any decline in area or quality and the population is therefore assumed to be stable. A monitoring of population trends should be conducted to confirm species status.

Geographic Range:

Lepthyphantes mauli is known from different sites in laurisilva forest that occupies about 20% of the island of Madeira (Portugal), mainly on its steep and humid northern slopes. Multiple collection sites are recorded for the species, mostly recent (Wunderlich 1992, Crespo et al. 2014). It was possible to perform species distribution modelling to predict its potential range with confidence limits (Cardoso et al. 2017). The extent of occurrence (EOO) and the area of occupancy (AOO) are estimated to be between 200-524 km².

 

Regions:
Portugal - Madeira
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
200-524,316 (km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
200-524,316 (km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
50 (m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
1850 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Palearctic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Madeira
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

No population size estimates exist, but the population is assumed to be stable, since the preferred habitat of the species is not experiencing a decline in area and the invasive species present seem not to affect the spider population.

 

Habitat and Ecology

Lepthyphantes mauli is restricted to the humid laurisilva forest on the northern slopes of Madeira Island. This species is a sheet-web builder close to the soil, being first described from the entrance of a lava tube (Grutas de São Vicente).

Major Threat(s):

There are no known threats to this species.

Conservation Actions

No specific conservation measures are in place for this species, but most of the species range is inside the Madeira Natural Park. Monitoring of population trends should be conducted to confirm species status.