Heriaeus crassispinus
| Bushy Leg Hairy Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| male | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Heriaeus |
| Species: | H. crassispinus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Heriaeus crassispinus Lawrence, 1942[1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Heriaeus crassispinus is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is commonly known as the bushy leg hairy crab spider.[3]
Distribution
Heriaeus crassispinus is found in Burundi, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, it has a wide distribution found in six provinces including Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, and Northern Cape.[3]
Habitat and ecology
This species was sampled from a variety of habitats ranging from coastal dunes, orchards, forests, palm tree forest, grassland, riverine sweet thorn and woodland at altitudes ranging from 7 to 1698 m.[3]
It occurs in the Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna and Thicket biomes.[3]
Description
Conservation
Heriaeus crassispinus is protected in more than ten protected areas including Nylsvley Nature Reserve and Kruger National Park.[3] Due to its large range, the species is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.[3]
Etymology
The specific name is Latin for "thick-spined".
Taxonomy
Heriaeus crassispinus was described by Lawrence in 1942 from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.[1] Van Niekerk and Dippenaar-Schoeman synonymized Heriaeus fimbriatus Lawrence, 1942 with this species in 2013.[4]
References
- ^ a b Lawrence, R.F. (1942). "A contribution to the araneid fauna of Natal and Zululand". Annals of the Natal Museum. 10: 141–190.
- ^ a b "Heriaeus crassispinus Lawrence, 1942". 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. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-Mo. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 36–37. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513274. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ van Niekerk, P.; Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (2013). "A revision of the crab spider genus Heriaeus Simon, 1875 (Araneae: Thomisidae) in the Afrotropical region". African Invertebrates. 54 (2): 447–476. Bibcode:2013AfrIn..54..447N. doi:10.5733/afin.054.0213.