Anyphops lucia
| St Lucia Anyphops Flat Spider | |
|---|---|
| Female | |
| Female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Selenopidae |
| Genus: | Anyphops |
| Species: | A. lucia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anyphops lucia | |
Anyphops lucia is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the St Lucia Anyphops flat spider.
Distribution
Anyphops lucia is endemic to the South African KwaZulu-Natal Province. It has been recorded from iSimangaliso Wetland Park at St. Lucia (Fanie's Camp) and Umhlanga at an altitude of 5 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biome and is a free-living cryptozoic nocturnal ground-dwelling spider.[3]
Description
Only the female is known. The carapace is red brown with lateral dark grey irregular markings reaching to the lateral edges. The chelicerae are red-brown with a wide longitudinal inner dark brown band.[3]
The legs are orange-brown, mottled dark grey, with patellae II and IV having a dark basal band and femur IV having a prolateral and longitudinal pale line limited by grey parallel lines. Metatarsus IV has a dark terminal spot.[3]
The dorsum of the abdomen is whitish, dotted by grey irregular spots, with lateral and posterior portions darker. The venter is pale yellow-grey. The anterior tibiae have 6 pairs of inferior spines. Total length is 7.73 mm.[3]
Conservation
Anyphops lucia is listed as Data Deficient due to taxonomic reasons. The species has a very small known range and more sampling is needed to collect males and determine the species' full range. It receives some protection within iSimangaliso Wetland Park.[3]
Etymology
The species is named after St. Lucia, the type locality where it was first collected.
References
- ^ Corronca, J.A. (2005). "Re-description of the lycosiformis species group of Anyphops Benoit and description of two new species (Araneae, Selenopidae)". Journal of Natural History. 39 (17): 1381–1393. doi:10.1080/00222930400008868. hdl:11336/91676.
- ^ "Anyphops lucia Corronca, 2005". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ^ a b c d e f 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. pp. 35–36. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.