Some three hundred species of spiders have been recorded from New Zealand to date, but as the greater majority are only rarely found, the key set out below will serve to identify most species encountered. The key is so constructed, that if a species not included is being identified, it will key out near a species of the same family or in some cases of the same genus. From this point the “Systematic Catalogue of New Zealand Spiders” (Parrot, A. W., 1946, Rec. Cant. Mus. Vol. V (2), pp. 51-92) may be used. This catalogue lists all the known species with reference to their original descriptions. If recourse to these descriptions is necessary, the terms used for the descriptions will be easily followed after study of the explanatory figures 1 and 2.

The characters used below are all easily distinguished, by use of a low-power microscope or a hand-lens.

Glossary

CRIBELLUM. An oval flat plate found immediately in front of the anterior spinnerets. It is perforated with numerous small holes and is used to produce a broad ribbon of silk composed of hundreds of threads.

CALAMISTRUM. A row of closely placed fine hairs on the fourth metatarsus, used to comb the silken ribbon from the cribellum.

COLULUS. A lobe which, in some spiders, is present immediately in front of the spinnerets. It is not present in those spiders possessing a cribellum.

1.	Fangs of chelicerae so articulated that they move up and down (Fig. 4)		2
	Fangs of chelicerae so articulated that they move transverse to the body (Fig. 3)		3
2.	Cephalothorax light brown, abdomen darker brown, spinnerets all small (Trap-door spider)	Migas paradoxis

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	Cephalothorax bright orange, abdomen black, four spinnerets present of which one pair are very long. (Tunnel-web spider, found under logs and stones)	Porrhothele antipodiana
3.	Eight eyes present (Fig. 1)		4
	Six eyes present (Fig. 8)		33
4.	Cribellum and calamistrum present (Figs. 3, 10)		5
	Cribellum and calamistrum absent		6
5.	Legs and cephalothorax yellow-brown, abdomen greyish, with a narrow yellow-brown leaf like mark along the centre (Figs. 1, 3)	Ixeuticus martius
6.	Colulus present (Fig. 5)		7
	Colulus absent		23
7.	All legs extremely long and slender (Cobweb builders found about houses and sheds)	Pholcus phalangoides
	Legs of normal length		8
8.	Legs all directed laterally when at rest (Crab spiders, usually found in foliage)		9
	At least the first pair of legs directed forward when at rest		11
9.	Abdomen broadly cut off behind. Body and legs a uniform brown.	Sidyma angulata
	Abdomen rounded or oval, not cut off behind		10
10.	Body and legs uniform red-brown	Philodromus rubrofrontis
	Cephalothorax reddish-brown, margin of abdomen white; dorsal surface with a double row of brownish markings	Diaea albolimbata
11.	Tarsus IV with a ventral row of serrated bristles which form a comb (Fig. 2)		12
	Tarsus IV without such a comb		13
12.	Abdomen globular, black, but with an orange-red band of variable size along the dorsal surface. (Usually found in sandy areas, e.g., beaches, where it builds a tangled web under logs and debris). Katipo	Latrodectus katipo
	Abdomen globular, greyish, but with a yellow leaf like dorsal marking, margined with black. (Builds a tangled web in shrubs, etc.)	Theridion veruculatum
	Abdomen globular, usually dirty white with a number of dark spots and several chevrons above the tip of the abdomen. (Builds cobwebs in houses, etc.)	Theridion tepidariorum
13.	Chelicerae with a lateral boss (Fig. 1)		22
	Chelicerae without a lateral boss		14
14.	Rather large spiders, legs with stout black bristles in addition to the normal setae. Orb-web weavers.
	Abdomen roughly triangular (or sub-oval) when viewed from above. Broad base against the cephalothorax		15

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	Abdomen not plainly triangular		17
15.	Abdomen with a small tubercle each side at half-way and a further four above the tip of the abdomen arranged 3-1	Aranea pustulosa
	Abdomen smooth, without tubercles		16
16.	Abdomen with a bright green leaf-shaped mark on dorsal surface	Aranea viridata
	Abdomen greyish-brown, with a pair of white spots near the cephalothorax, which may be joined as a transverse band, or even spread over the majority of the dorsal surface of the abdomen.	Aranea crassa
17.	Posterior portion of the abdomen produced back over the spinnerets to form a “tail”		18
	Spinnerets terminal, no tail present		20
18.	Prominent lobe on each side of the abdomen at the base of the tail. (Large numbers usually found together, living a semi-communal life)	Cyclosa trilobata
	Abdomen smooth, without lobes		19
19.	Anterior margin of the abdomen with a deep notch. Abdomen silvery	Arachnura feredayi
	Abdomen without notch, bright yellow and silvery	Argiope protensa
20.	Abdomen comparatively squat, rising above the cephalothorax, where there are two pairs of low humps	Leucage dromedaria
	Abdomen elongate and cylindrical		21
21.	All legs uniformly long; basal segment of chelicera very large, and margin of cheliceral groove with numerous strong teeth	Tetragnatha nitens
	First pair of legs extremely long, chelicerae normal	Orsinome arborea
22.	About an inch long. Body uniformly greyish-brown	Cambridgea foliata
23.	Eyes in two rows of four (Fig. 9)		24
	Eyes in three rows, 4-2–2 (Fig. 6)		28
24.	Tarsi with three claws		25
	Tarsi with two claws		26
25.	About three-quarters of an inch in length. Cephalothorax yellowish-brown, with two grey longitudinal marks. Abdomen pale with a number of irregular grey spots. (Builds sheet webs with a tube retreat about houses and sheds.)	Tegenaria domestica
	About half an inch in length. Chelicerae and cephalothorax bright reddish-brown. Abdomen light yellow. Chelicerae

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	stout and projecting forward. (Found on rocks between tide marks, where it seals a hole in the rock with a silken cover during high water.)	Desis marina
26.	Body extremely flattened and modified for life in cracks and under bark	Hemicloea celerrima
	Body normal, not flattened		27
27.	Abdomen closely covered with fine hairs, so as to give it a dark metallic silver sheen. (Usually found in a silken tube in rotten wood or bark.)	Anzacia gemmea
	Abdomen light yellow, with numerous light brown spots. (Usually found in rolled leaves on shrubs.)	Clubiona peculiaris
28.	Middle pair of eyes of the front row much larger than the rest of the eyes. (Fig. 7.) (Jumping spiders.)		29

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	All eyes of approximately equal size		30
29.	Body cylindrical and elongate. Conspicuous median yellow band extending over cephalothorax and abdomen. (Found on foliage.)	Trite planiceps
	Body flattened. Dorsal surface a uniform black. Under surface black. (Found under bark and in the cracks of fence posts, etc.)	Holoplatys senilis
30.	Tarsi with three claws		31
	Tarsi with two claws		32
31.	About a half inch long. Dark-brown, but with a light yellow streak along the middle of the cephalothorax and abdomen. (Found actively running about or in small burrows in the ground.)	Lycosa hilaris
	About an inch in length. Body uniform dark brown with a yellow band along each side of the cephalothorax. (Weaves conspicuous nests over egg sac on gorse bushes and other low shrubs.)	Dolomedes minor
	Nearly an inch in length. Yellow, variegated with many black marks. (Found under logs, but is extremely agile.)	Cycloctenus flaviceps
32.	An inch or more in length. Cephalothorax reddish-brown, abdomen dark-brown. (Wandering spider which does not build a web.)	Uliodon frenatus
33.	Nearly an inch in length. Elongate. Cephalothorax bright red, abdomen reddish-brown.	Dysdera australiens

Literature

Most of the species described up to the end of the last century, are included in Simon, E. “Historie Naturelle des Araignees”, Paris. This work is in the Victoria College library. The most important papers since then are Bryant, E. B. (1933), Rec. Cant. Mus., 4 (1), pp. 1-27 (1935), Rec. Cant. Mus. 4 (2), pp. 53-94, and a revision of the Tunnel-web and Trap-door spiders, Todd, V. (1945), T.R.S.N.Z. 74 (4), pp. 375-407. Both of these journals are available in most libraries.