Zelotes corrugatus
| Common Dark Ground Spider | |
|---|---|
| A female Zelotes corrugatus in South Africa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Zelotes |
| Species: | Z. corrugatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Zelotes corrugatus (Purcell, 1907)[1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Zelotes corrugatus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.[2] It is commonly known as the common dark ground spider.[3]
Distribution
Zelotes corrugatus is an African endemic distributed across Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.[2] The species is common and in South Africa has been recorded from all nine provinces, at altitudes ranging from 26 to 1,752 m above sea level.[3]
The species was originally described from Hanover in the Northern Cape and has a widespread distribution across the country.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama Karoo, and Savanna biomes. These are free-running ground spiders that are found under stones during the day.[3]
Description
Conservation
Zelotes corrugatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range. There are no significant threats to the species and it is protected in more than 10 protected areas.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Purcell in 1907 from Hanover as Melanophora corrugata. It was transferred to Camillina by Tucker in 1923, and later to Zelotes by FitzPatrick in 2007. The species is known from both sexes.[3]
References
- ^ Purcell, W.F. (1907). "New South African spiders of the family Drassidae in the collection of the South African Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7. 20 (118): 297–336, pl. 13-15. doi:10.1080/00222930709487339.
- ^ a b "Zelotes corrugatus (Purcell, 1907)". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ a b c d e f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 13. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197783. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.