Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae (Napoleon's Crab Spider)

[surroundx]

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the St Helena Air Access project on the crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae. [162959]

Mr Duncan: The crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae has not been seen since 1967 when two juvenile specimens were found, but the exact location of these discoveries is unknown. Invertebrate surveys in 2003, 2012 and 2013 did not find any further evidence of the presence of this species within the Airport Development Area.

Source: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130703/text/130703w0001.htm

[surroundx]

"two (Helebiona wilma and Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae) were not found in 2003 but were represented in the Belgians' collection by three or less individuals and so might have been missed in 2003 even if actually present in small numbers"

Source: Ashmole, Philip, and, Ashmole, Myrtle. (2004a). The invertebrates of Prosperous Bay Plain, St Helena: A survey, by Philip and Myrtle Ashmole, September – December 2003. Commissioned by the St Helena Government and financed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Peebles, Scotland: Kidston Mill.

[surroundx]

"**Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae Benoit. Belgians page 86, A&A
316. 2003 sites: none.
In this species (known only from two juveniles about 3 mm
long) the front two pairs of legs are large and spiny, the abdomen is
oval and there is a prominent shelf extending above the lateral eyes.
The animal is mottled in colour matching the stony background.
Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae is the sole member of an
endemic genus created by the Belgians, but this is of doubtful
validity, being closely related to the Old World genus Runcinia. The
two specimens were found in the south of PBP at ~260m altitude
(perhaps near Gill Waterfall), a site likely to be destroyed during
airport construction."

Source: Ashmole, Philip, and, Ashmole, Myrtle. (2004b). Guide to Invertebrates of Prosperous Bay Plain, St Helena and Illustrated account of species found on the Eastern Arid Area (EAA), including Prosperous Bay Plain, Holdfast Tom and Horse Point Plain. Peebles, Scotland: Kidston Mill. 92 pp. [automatic download]

[Sebbe]

Prosperous Bay Plain Invertebrate Survey 2018-19.

Probably the single most important discovery to date from the temporal survey has been two specimens of
Napoleon's crab spider (Bonapruncinia sanctaehelenae). A single female from a Berlese extraction sample at
Stony Outwash during temporal sample 2 and a male from a Berlese extraction sample at Stony Area during
temporal sample 5; these sites are approximately 400 m apart. This endemic genus and species was described
following the two Belgian expeditions, from two immature female specimens collected at 'Sud de la
Prosperous Bay Plain' on the 26th November 1965 (Basilewsky, 1977). The species is very distinctive and is
separated from the other crab spiders on the island by the presence of an angular shelf that projects above
and in front of the anterolateral eyes. In the two Belgian specimens the combined length of the cephalothorax
and abdomen was 3.1 mm, in the current specimens are 3.2 mm (male) 5.2 mm (female) and are shown in
Figure 15; the colour pattern also matches that shown in the 'Faune Terrestre' (Figure 16), which also shows
the angular shelf in greater detail.

www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2018-19-Prosperous-Bay-Plain-Invertebrate-Survey.pdf

[koeiyabe]

www.iucnredlist.org/species/65881343/67528211