Anyphops stridulans

Anyphops stridulans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Selenopidae
Genus: Anyphops
Species:
A. stridulans
Binomial name
Anyphops stridulans
(Lawrence, 1940)[1]

Anyphops stridulans is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to the Northern Cape of South Africa.[3]

Distribution

Anyphops stridulans is known only from the type locality of Steinkopf in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits the Succulent Karoo biome at an altitude of 870 m above sea level.[3] These are free-living cryptozoic nocturnal ground living spiders that have been sampled from under stones.[3]

Description

Anyphops stridulans is known from only the male. The carapace is pale yellow, almost without markings, with a few indistinct darker spots near the lateral margin and a dark bar behind each eye surrounded by large black areas.[3]

The abdomen is yellow with a few minute spots at the sides of the posterior extremity. Legs are yellow with a few indistinct blackish spots and stripes. The tibiae I and II have 6 pairs of inferior spines, some of them extremely long, plus 2 lateral spines on each side and 4-5 superior spines. The metatarsi I and II have 3 pairs of inferior spines and 2 lateral spines on each side in the basal half.[3]

Total length is 7-8 mm.[3]

Conservation

Anyphops stridulans is listed as Data Deficient for taxonomic reasons, as the species is known only from the type locality and only from the male.[3] More sampling is needed to collect the female and determine the species' range.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops stridulans from Steinkopf. It was later transferred to the genus Anyphops by Corronca in 1996.[2]

References

  1. ^ Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 32: 601.
  2. ^ a b "Anyphops stridulans (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
  3. ^ 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. 60. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.