Runcinia tropica
| Tropical Runcinia Grass Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Runcinia |
| Species: | R. tropica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Runcinia tropica | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Runcinia affinis tropica Simon, 1907 | |
Runcinia tropica is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is commonly known as the tropical Runcinia grass crab spider and is widespread throughout Africa.[3]
Distribution
Runcinia tropica has a wide distribution throughout Africa.
In South Africa, it has been recorded from Gauteng (Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve), KwaZulu-Natal (Empangeni), and Mpumalanga (Belfast).[3]
Habitat and ecology
Runcinia tropica are free-living on plants.[3]
In South Africa, they have been sampled in Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes, at altitudes ranging from 78 to 1,871 m.[3]
Description
Taxonomy
Runcinia tropica was described by Eugène Simon in 1907 from Annobón as a subspecies Runcinia affinis tropica.[1] Dippenaar-Schoeman elevated it to species status in 1980.[4] The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1980 and 1983 and is known from both sexes.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b Simon, E. (1907). "Arachnides recueillis par L. Fea sur la côte occidentale d'Afrique. 1re partie". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 43: 218–323.
- ^ "Runcinia tropica Simon, 1907". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d 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. 61. 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.
- ^ 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.