Anyphops immaculatus
| Gauteng's Anyphops Flat Spider | |
|---|---|
| male | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Selenopidae |
| Genus: | Anyphops |
| Species: | A. immaculatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anyphops immaculatus (Lawrence, 1940)[1]
| |
Anyphops immaculatus is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Gauteng's Anyphops flat spider.[3]
Distribution
Anyphops immaculatus occurs in five South African provinces: Free State, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape. Notable localities include Florida, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, East London, and Cathedral Peak.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits Fynbos, Grassland, and Thicket biomes at altitudes ranging from 52 to 1693 m above sea level.[3] These are free-living cryptozoic nocturnal ground living spiders that are sometimes found in houses.[3]
Description
Known only from the male. The carapace is yellow-brown with thoracic striae and some very faint radiations from it a little darker, and eyes surrounded by a blackened area. The chelicerae are yellow brown.[3]
The opisthosoma is yellow with a few blackish brown spots. The legs are without markings except for two very faint brown bands on the anterior tibiae. The anterior tibiae have 5 pairs of inferior spines.[3]
Total length is 8.5 mm.[3]
Conservation
Anyphops immaculatus is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in the Swartberg Nature Reserve and Amanzi Private Game Reserve.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops immaculatus from Florida in Gauteng.[1] It was later transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.[3]
References
- ^ a b Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 32: 579. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.5227.
- ^ "Anyphops immaculatus (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Selenopidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 26. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.