The mysterious Waitetola, type locality of several New Zealand spiders

Abstract

The locality "Waitetola" is referred to as a locality in several publications on New Zealand spider taxonomy. It is the type locality given for Waitetola huttoni Forster & Wilton, 1973 (Amaurobiidae), Diploplecta communis Millidge, 1988 (Linyphiidae), Muritaia orientalis Forster & Wilton, 1973 (Amaurobiidae), Toxopsoides huttoni Forster & Wilton, 1973 (Desidae) and Clubiona delicata Forster, 1979 (Clubionidae), and the only known locality for the later three species. It would appear that Waitetola may be an area of high spider endemicity; however, it cannot be found in the New Zealand Gazetteer of Official Geographic Names, the Reed New Zealand Atlas or MapToasterTopo.