Arctosa nivosa
| Spotted Arctosa Wolf Spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Lycosidae |
| Genus: | Arctosa |
| Species: | A. nivosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Arctosa nivosa (Purcell, 1903)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Arctosa nivosa is a species of spider in the family Lycosidae.[1] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the spotted Arctosa wolf spider.[2]
Distribution
Arctosa nivosa has been recorded from the provinces Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape in South Africa at elevations ranging from 37 to 1531 m.[2]
Habitat
The species is a free-running ground dweller sampled from the Fynbos and Thicket biomes.[2]
Description
The species is known from both sexes, though only the female epigyne has been illustrated.[2]
The carapace is pale yellow below or at least paler, while the sides and dorsal surface are black. The dorsal surface has a median yellowish mark on the anterior half flanked by yellow spots on each side, with sometimes almost the whole dorsal surface broadly yellowish.[3]
The sides and dorsal surface are covered with numerous snow-white spots and patches.[3]
Conservation
Arctosa nivosa is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range.[2] The species is protected in Tsolwana Nature Reserve and Asante Sana Private Game Reserve.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by William Frederick Purcell in 1903 as Lycosa nivosa from Retreat Flats in the Cape Peninsula.[3] Roewer revised the species in 1960.[4]
References
- ^ a b "Arctosa nivosa (Purcell, 1903)". World Spider Catalog. World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 1 (A-H). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 29. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6324709. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ a b c Purcell, W.F. (1903). "New South African spiders of the families Migidae, Ctenizidae, Barychelidae Dipluridae, and Lycosidae". Annals of the South African Museum. 3: 69–142.
- ^ Roewer, C.F. (1960). "Araneae Lycosaeformia II (Lycosidae) (Fortsetzung und Schluss)". Exploration du Parc National de l'Upemba, Mission G. F. de Witte. 55: 519–1040.