Ancylotrypa brevicornis
| Venterskroon wafer-lid trapdoor spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Cyrtaucheniidae |
| Genus: | Ancylotrypa |
| Species: | A. brevicornis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ancylotrypa brevicornis (Hewitt, 1919)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ancylotrypa brevicornis, commonly known as the Venterskroon wafer-lid trapdoor spider, is a species of spider of the genus Ancylotrypa. It is endemic to South Africa.[1]
Distribution
Ancylotrypa brevicornis is known from three South African provinces: Gauteng, Limpopo, and North West. Type locality is Venterskroon in North West Province. The species occurs at elevations between 1120 and 1628 meters above sea level.[2]
Habitat and ecology
This species is a free-living ground dweller that lives in silk-lined burrows. In addition to constructing a thin wafer-lid trapdoor, these spiders use a hard, spherical plug made of soil particles held together by silk to close the burrow entrance. The species has been sampled from both Grassland and Savanna biomes.[2]
Description
Both males and females have been described for this species.[1]
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern on the South African Red List. The species is protected in Nylsvley Nature Reserve, where burrow-constructing behavior has been studied.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Ancylotrypa brevicornis (Hewitt, 1919)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Cyrtaucheniidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 1–37. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6760048. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.