Thanatus vulgaris
| Thanatus vulgaris | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Philodromidae |
| Genus: | Thanatus |
| Species: | T. vulgaris
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thanatus vulgaris | |
Thanatus vulgaris is a species of running crab spider in the family Philodromidae. It is found in North America, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Israel, Caucasus, a range from Russia (European to Far East), Central Asia, China, and Korea.[2][3]
Distribution
Thanatus vulgaris has a very wide global distribution including North America, North Africa, Europe to the Far East, and Central Asia.[2]
In South Africa, it is known from eight provinces including more than 10 protected areas, at altitudes of 7-1795 m above sea level.[4]
Habitat and ecology
Thanatus vulgaris is an introduced species in many parts of the world. These are common free-living ground and plant dwellers.[4]
In South Africa, they were sampled in pitfall traps from the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna and Thicket biomes. The species has also been sampled from agro-ecosystems such as cotton, lucerne, maize, potatoes and strawberries.[4]
Description
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female
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Conservation
Thanatus vulgaris is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in several protected areas such as Blouberg Nature Reserve and Amanzi Nature Reserve. No conservation actions are recommended.[4]
Subspecies
These two subspecies belong to the species Thanatus vulgaris:
- (Thanatus vulgaris vulgaris) Simon, 1870
- Thanatus vulgaris creticus Kulczynski, 1903
References
- ^ Simon, E. (1870). "Aranéides nouveaux ou peu connus du midi de l'Europe". Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liège. 3: 271–358.
- ^ a b c "Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "Thanatus vulgaris species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ a b c d Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Philodromidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 32–33. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6634009. Retrieved 21 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.