Pherecydes (spider)
| Pherecydes | |
|---|---|
| female Pherecydes tuberculatus | |
| male P. nicolaasi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Pherecydes O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883[1] |
| Type species | |
| P. tuberculatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883 | |
| Species | |
|
7, see text | |
Pherecydes is a genus of African crab spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1883.[2]
Description
Members of Pherecydes are small spiders measuring 3 to 5 mm.[3]
Colour varies between species with the carapace ranging from yellowish-brown mottled with dark brown to whitish-grey mottled with black, the abdomen from cream faintly mottled with brown to grey faintly mottled with black, and the legs from cream to fawn mottled with black and brown.[3]
Legs I and II have numerous dark brown and yellow patches on the femora and patellae dorsally, while the tibiae and metatarsi are lightly banded.[3]
The genus is recognised by the two lateral eyes situated on a common elevated area that is widely truncated on top, though this varies between species.[3]
Life style
These spiders have been sampled from trees and shrubs.[3]
Species
As of October 2025, this genus includes seven species and one subspecies:[1]
- Pherecydes carinae Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1980 – South Africa
- Pherecydes ionae Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1980 – Tanzania, South Africa
- Pherecydes livens Simon, 1895 – Tunisia
- Pherecydes lucinae Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1980 – South Africa
- Pherecydes nicolaasi Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1980 – South Africa
- Pherecydes tuberculatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883 – South Africa, Lesotho (type species)
- Pherecydes zebra Lawrence, 1927 – Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa
- P. z. tropicalis Millot, 1942 – Burkina Faso
References
- ^ a b c "Gen. Pherecydes O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
- ^ Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1883). "On some new genera and species of spiders". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 51 (3): 352–365. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1883.tb06654.x.
- ^ a b c d e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 2 My-R. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 35. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513276. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
External links