Spiders from some Pacific Islands 
B. J. Marples 1 
Knowledge of the spiders of the Pacific 
is largely the result of the work of Berland 
(1934, et. seqq.). He has published a number 
of papers dealing with the spiders of the New 
Caledonian and New Hebridean region; of 
Samoa; and of the Marquesas, Society, and 
Austral groups, and other islands in the south- 
eastern Pacific. Recently I have completed a 
study of the spiders of Western Samoa (not 
yet published) based on two summers’ col- 
lecting. It adds considerably to the list of 
species already known, bringing it to a total 
of 123 and includes several families not pre- 
viously known to have representatives in the 
Pacific region. It is clear that much intensive 
collecting is needed before more than tenta- 
tive conclusions can be drawn regarding the 
geographical distribution of spiders in the 
Pacific. The present paper records 31 species 
of spiders from the islands of Niue, Pukapuka, 
Rarotonga, Tokelau, Tongatabu, and Pit- 
cairn from which few or none have been 
known. Forty-nine of the records are new. A 
new genus and two new species of Salticidae 
are described. 
Niue is situated about 400 miles SSW of 
Samoa and the same distance WNW of Ton- 
gatabu. It consists of a single low-lying island 
some 14 miles long by 10 miles wide. I am 
indebted to Mr. P. T. Church for sending me 
specimens of five species, none having been, 
recorded previously. 
Pukapuka is an atoll in the northern part 
of the Cook group, 720 miles northwest of 
1 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, New 
Zealand. Manuscript received February 11, 1954. 
Rarotonga. It consists of several islets scat- 
tered around the reef, with an area of 2 square 
miles which is said to be decreasing. I am 
indebted to Dr. G. N. Davies for a collection 
of eight species, none having been recorded 
previously. They are all species known from 
Samoa. 
Rarotonga is one of the Cook Islands, lying 
some 850 miles east of the Tonga group. It 
is a high volcanic island, rising to about 3,000 
feet, and has an area of some 26 square miles. 
Berland records five species from there. I am 
indebted to Dr. G. H. Satchell for the present 
collection of nine species, which raises the 
total to 13. One seems to be new and is 
described here and tentatively placed in a new 
genus. The others are all known from Samoa 
except two, one, Mollicia microphthalma , re- 
corded by Berland, the other, Sandalodes calvus , 
a new record. Both occur in the island groups 
to the east and then again far to the west, M. 
microphthalma in New Caledonia and Loyalty, 
and S. calvus in Australia. It is curious that 
neither has been found in Samoa. 
The Tokelau Islands consist of a group of 
three atolls lying 270 miles north of Western 
Samoa, with areas of 1,350, 650 and 500 acres 
respectively. No spiders have been recorded 
from them. I am indebted to Dr. and Mrs. 
J. C. Lopdell for a collection from the island 
of Atafu, the smallest of the three. It consists 
of 13 species, all known from Samoa. The 
most remarkable of these is Apiacera minuta , 
one of the Ochyroceratidae, a family which 
has not been recorded previously in the Pa- 
cific. This species and Conopistha unimaculata 
I am describing elsewhere (Marples, in press). 
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