Mesida Pohnpei

Mesida web Kosrae

Spiders

Theridion Pohnpei

We have been studying the spiders of the high islands of eastern Micronesia, in particular Pohnpei and Kosrae

Tylorida Pohnpei Nanlaud

Spiders of Micronesia

The arthropod fauna of Micronesia has been studied largely through the efforts of the late JL Gressitt and colleagues in the 1940s - 1960s, which resulted in a series of articles on the Insects of Micronesia. Of all islands, Pohnpei was found to be a rich center of endemism, with many unusual forms. The fauna of Kosrae was found to represent an attenuation of the Pohnpei fauna with some local endemism. Spiders were only cursorily represented in this survey, with only 9 species described form these islands, and all 9 species are widely distributed outside these islands. Since 2006 we have found many new species. Affinities are likely from the west.