[4] Its predators may include mice and weka, which would explain its absence from Pitt Island, where it was described as common in the original species description.

[4] This species, the only Dolomedes known from the Chatham Islands, is classified as having a relict population status, due to it surviving in less than 10% of its previously known habitat.

[8][6] The Rangatira spider was first described from specimens collected on Pitt Island, but despite substantial surveys it has not been seen there since the early 1900s.

Mice, which are known spider predators, were accidentally introduced to Pitt some time before 1951, and may have driven D. schauinslandi extinct there.

[4] Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Relict" with the qualifiers of "Conservation Dependent" and "Island Endemic".