Runcinia erythrina
| Round-head Runcinia Grass Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Runcinia |
| Species: | R. erythrina
|
| Binomial name | |
| Runcinia erythrina Jézéquel, 1964[1]
| |
Runcinia erythrina is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[1] It is commonly known as the round-head Runcinia grass crab spider and occurs in several African countries.[2]
Distribution
Runcinia erythrina is known from Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.[1]
In South Africa, the species has been recorded from all provinces except Northern Cape.[2]
Habitat and ecology
Runcinia erythrina are free-living on plants and commonly found on grass.[2]
The species has been sampled from all floral biomes except the Desert and Succulent Karoo biomes, at altitudes ranging from 6 to 2,785 m. It has also been sampled from the crop kenaf.[2]
Males have been found in December and females from October to May.[3]
Description
-
female
-
female
-
female
-
female
Conservation
Runcinia erythrina is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in more than eighteen protected areas throughout South Africa.[2]
Taxonomy
Runcinia erythrina was described by Jézéquel in 1964 from the Ivory Coast.[4] The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1980 and 1983 and is known from both sexes.[3][5]
References
- ^ a b c "Runcinia erythrina Jézéquel, 1964". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ 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. 53. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513276. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ a b Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1980). "The crab-spiders of southern Africa (Araneae: Thomisidae). 1. The genus Runcinia Simon, 1875". Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa. 43: 303–326.
- ^ Jézéquel, J.-F. (1964). "Araignées de la savane de Singrobo (Côte d'Ivoire). III. – Thomisidae". Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (A). 26 (4): 1103–1143.
- ^ Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1983). "The spider genera Misumena, Misumenops, Runcinia and Thomisus (Araneae: Thomisidae) of southern Africa". Entomology Memoir, Department of Agriculture Republic of South Africa. 55: 1–66.