Assessment Rationale:

Macarophaeus cultior 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 688 km². However, Macarophaeus cultior 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:

Macarophaeus cultior is known throughout the 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 (Kulczyński 1899, Denis 1962, Crespo et al. 2014b). 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) was estimated to be between 153-688 km² and the area of occupancy (AOO) between 136-688 km².

Population:

No population size estimates exist, but the population is assumed to be stable, since the preferred habitat of the species, humid laurisilva forest, is not experiencing any decline in area and the invasive species present should not affect the spider populations.

 

Habitat and Ecology

Macarophaeus cultior is restricted to the humid laurisilva forest on the northern slopes of Madeira Island. This species is an active nocturnal ground hunter feeding mainly on small/medium size arthropods.

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 its range is inside the Madeira Natural Park. Monitoring of population trends should be conducted to confirm species status.