Theridion purcelli
| Purcell's Theridion comb-feet spider | |
|---|---|
| Female | |
| Juvenile male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Theridion |
| Species: | T. purcelli
|
| Binomial name | |
| Theridion purcelli O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904[1]
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Theridion purcelli is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae.[1] It is found in Saint Helena, Namibia, and South Africa, and is commonly known as Purcell's Theridion comb-feet spider.[2]
Distribution
Theridion purcelli is found in Saint Helena, Namibia, and South Africa.[1] In South Africa it is known from all provinces.[2]
Habitat and ecology
This species builds a conical retreat of twigs and leaves in its three-dimensional labyrinth web.[2]
It has been sampled from all the floral biomes except the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest and Succulent Karoo biomes at altitudes ranging from 5 to 1809 m. The species is also commonly found in crops including citrus, cotton, macadamia, maize, strawberries, sunflowers and tomatoes. It is also synantropic and found in and around houses.[2]
Description
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female with egg sac
-
female
The abdomen is subglobular and furnished with bristly setae. The colour is dull yellowish with a longitudinal central sharply dentated band, obtuse anteriorly and tapering towards the spinnerets. The band is marked with pale spots. Ventrally the abdomen is black-brown with a central white patch. The female resembles the male.[3]
Conservation
Theridion purcelli is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its large geographical range. The species is protected in six reserves.[2]
Etymology
The species is named after William Frederick Purcell, a South African naturalist and museum curator who made significant contributions to the study of southern African arachnids.
Taxonomy
Theridion purcelli was described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1904 from Salt River in the Western Cape. The species has not been revised and is known from both sexes.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Theridion purcelli O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904". 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. (2021). The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 2 [R-T]. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 34. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7515998. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1904). "Descriptions of some new species and characters of three new genera, of Araneidea from South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 3: 143–165.