Africactenus tridentatus
| Africa Ctenus Tropical Wolf Spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Ctenidae |
| Genus: | Africactenus |
| Species: | A. tridentatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Africactenus tridentatus Hyatt, 1954[1]
| |
Africactenus tridentatus is a species of spider in the family Ctenidae.[2] It is endemic to southern Africa and is commonly known as the Africa Ctenus tropical wolf spider.[3]
Distribution
Africactenus tridentatus is found in Zimbabwe and South Africa.[2] In South Africa, the species has been recorded from two provinces: the Eastern Cape (including Jeffreys Bay and Addo Elephant National Park) and Mpumalanga (White River).[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species is a free-running ground dweller known from the Savanna and Fynbos biomes, at altitudes ranging from 16 to 874 m above sea level.[3]
Description
Africactenus tridentatus is known only from males. It belongs to the genus Africactenus, which is characterized by a deep dorsal indentation on the carapace, well-developed hair tufts on the dorsum of the opisthosoma, and the absence of terminal pairs of spines on tibiae I and II.[3]
Conservation
Africactenus tridentatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species receives protection in Addo Elephant National Park.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by K.H. Hyatt in 1954 from Mashonaland, Zimbabwe.[1] It was later revised by Benoit in 1974.[3]
References
- ^ a b Hyatt, K.H. (1954). "The African spiders of the family Ctenidae in the collections of the British Museum (Natural History)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 7 (84): 877–894. doi:10.1080/00222935408651809.
- ^ a b "Africactenus tridentatus Hyatt, 1954". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Ctenidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 7. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6090166. Retrieved 21 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.