Geraesta congoensis
| Green Geraesta Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Geraesta |
| Species: | G. congoensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Geraesta congoensis | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Geraesta congoensis is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is commonly known as the green Geraesta crab spider.[3]
Distribution
Geraesta congoensis is found in Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, it is known from the provinces Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Geraesta congoensis are plant-dwellers found on shrubs and herbs, and occasionally in tree canopies.[3] Their green colour provides camouflage among vegetation.[3] This rare species has been sampled with sweep nets from plants in the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Thicket and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 4 to 1842 m.[3]
Description
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female
-
female
-
male
-
male
Conservation
Geraesta congoensis is protected in five protected areas including Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, Giant's Castle Nature Reserve, Hluhluwe Nature Reserve, Ndumo Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park.[3] Due to its large range, the species is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.[3]
Taxonomy
Geraesta congoensis was originally described by Lessert in 1943 as Stephanopis congoensis from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] The species was transferred to Geraesta by Benjamin in 2015.[4]
References
- ^ a b Lessert, R. de (1943). "Araignées du Congo belge (Troisième partie)". Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 50 (3): 305–338.
- ^ a b "Geraesta congoensis (Lessert, 1943)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-Mo. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 32. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513274. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Benjamin, S.P. (2015). "On the African crab spider genus Geraesta Simon, 1889 (Araneae: Thomisidae)". African Invertebrates. 56 (2): 309–318. Bibcode:2015AfrIn..56..309B. doi:10.5733/afin.056.0205.