Pherecydes tuberculatus
| Common Pherecydes Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Pherecydes |
| Species: | P. tuberculatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pherecydes tuberculatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883[1]
| |
Pherecydes tuberculatus is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is found in southern Africa and is commonly known as common Pherecydes crab spider.[3]
Distribution
Pherecydes tuberculatus is found in Lesotho and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, the species is known from the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Western Cape. Notable locations include Addo Elephant National Park, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, Polokwane Nature Reserve, Richtersveld National Park, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, and Swartberg Nature Reserve.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Pherecydes tuberculatus inhabits the Grassland, Fynbos, Forest, Nama Karoo, Thicket, and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 6 to 2826 m.[3]
These tree and grass dwellers have been sampled from Lucerne fields and pine plantations.[3]
Description
-
female
-
female
-
male
Conservation
Pherecydes tuberculatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species is recorded in more than ten protected areas.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1883 with the type locality given only as Caffraria.[1] The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1980.[4] Both sexes are known.[3]
References
- ^ a b 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 "Pherecydes tuberculatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883". 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 2 My-R. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 40. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513276. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1980). "The crab-spiders of southern Africa (Araneae: Thomisidae). 2. The genera Pherecydes Pickard-Cambridge, 1883 and Smodicinus Simon, 1895". Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa. 43: 327–340.