Monaeses pustulosus

Long Tail Monaeses Crab Spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Thomisidae
Genus: Monaeses
Species:
M. pustulosus
Binomial name
Monaeses pustulosus
Pavesi, 1895[1]
Synonyms
  • Tmarus pustulosus Simon, 1901

Monaeses pustulosus is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is endemic to Africa and is commonly known as the long tail Monaeses crab spider.[3]

Distribution

Monaeses pustulosus is found in Ethiopia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Kenya, DR Congo, Namibia and South Africa.[2]

In South Africa, the species occurs in all nine provinces.[3] Notable locations include Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve.[3]

Habitat and ecology

Monaeses pustulosus is mainly sampled from grass.[3] The species has been collected from Fynbos, Forest, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Nama Karoo, Savanna and Grassland biomes at altitudes ranging from 1 to 2,020 m.[3]

Some individuals have also been collected from trees such as Dombeya species at Nylsvley Nature Reserve.[3]

Description

Conservation

Monaeses pustulosus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range.[3] The species is protected in 14 protected areas.[3]

Taxonomy

Monaeses pustulosus was originally described by Pietro Pavesi in 1895 from Ethiopia.[1] The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1984.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Pavesi, P. (1895). "Esplorazione del Guiba e dei suoi affluenti compiuta dal Cap. Bottego. XVIII. Aracnidi". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 35: 491–537.
  2. ^ a b "Monaeses pustulosus Pavesi, 1895". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. 61. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513274. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ^ Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1984). "The crab-spiders of southern Africa (Araneae: Thomisidae). 4. The genus Monaeses Thorell, 1869". Phytophylactica. 16: 101–116.