Trichothyse zuluensis
| Nkandla Mouse Ground Spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Trichothyse |
| Species: | T. zuluensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Trichothyse zuluensis | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Trichothyse zuluensis is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.[2] It occurs in southern Africa and is commonly known as the Nkandla mouse ground spider.[3]
Distribution
Trichothyse zuluensis is recorded from Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. In South Africa, it is known from two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits multiple biomes including Forest, Nama Karoo, and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 38 to 1706 m above sea level. Trichothyse zuluensis are free-living ground dwellers.[3]
Description
Conservation
Trichothyse zuluensis is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range. The species is protected in Ndumo Game Reserve and Nkandhla Forest and there are no significant threats.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by R. F. Lawrence in 1938 as Xerophaeus zuluensis from Nkandhla Forest.[4] In 2025, Sankaran, Haddad & Tripathi transferred the species to the genus Trichothyse and provided the first description of the male.[2]
References
- ^ Lawrence, R.F. (1938). "A collection of spiders from Natal and Zululand". Annals of the Natal Museum. 8: 455–524.
- ^ a b "Trichothyse zuluensis (Lawrence, 1938)". World Spider Catalog.
- ^ a b c d Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 3 (T-X). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 63. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Sankaran, P.M.; Haddad, C.R.; Tripathi, R. (2025). "A review of the ground spider genus Trichothyse Tucker, 1923 (Araneae, Gnaphosidae)". Zootaxa. 5583 (1): 39–70. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5583.1.2. PMID 40174126.