Sorensenella prehensor nitida

Sorensenella prehensor nitida is a subspecies of Sorensenella prehensor in the family Triaenonychidae. It was described by Ray Forster in 1954. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found in the East Cape region of the North Island.

Taxonomy
Sorensenella prehensor nitida is a member of the New Zealand endemic genus Sorensenella in the opilionid (harvestman) family Triaenonychidae. It was described by Ray Forster in his 1954 monograph of the New Zealand Laniatores. He placed it as a subspecies of Sorensenella prehensor, differentiating it on the basis of geographic range and eyemound characteristics.

The type specimen of S. p. nitida is held at Te Papa.

Description
Sorensenella prehensor nitida is assumed to possess the general characteristics of Sorensenalla prehensor prehensor as Forster did not explicitly state this but did provide characters to distinguish between the two taxa. The former can be separated from the latter by the smaller apical tubercle (a pointed protuberance) on the eyemound of males and the absence of this structure in females. These characters also differentiate S. p. nitida from Soresenella prehensor obesa, which is also the largest of the subspecies of Sorensenella prehensor.

Males of this subspecies have larger pedipalps than females. While Forster provided measurements for both males and females, he did not give any additional descriptive detail other than noting there is a pair of subequal tubercles behind each anterior corner of the carapace and the inner tubercle is strong. The only figures provided depict the male and female eyemounds.

Distribution
Sorensenella prehensor nitida is recorded from the East Cape region of the North Island of New Zealand.

Conservation status
Sorensenella prehensor nitida has not been assessed under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.