Afrophantes
| Afrophantes | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Linyphiidae |
| Subfamily: | Micronetinae |
| Genus: | Afrophantes Tanasevitch, 2025[1] |
| Species | |
|
13, see text | |
Afrophantes is a genus of spiders in the family Linyphiidae.[2]
Distribution
Afrophantes is distributed across East Africa.[2]
Habitat
Spiders of this genus are generally found in mountainous forests, where they prefer humid areas, such as leaf litter or mosses.[1]
Etymology
The genus name is a combination of "Africa" (referring to the Afrotropics), and Lepthyphantes, where several species were grouped previously.[1]
Taxonomy
This genus is a member of the subfamily Micronetinae, and seems to be most similar to Mughiphantes Saaristo et Tanasevitch, 1999.[1]
Species
As of January 2026, this genus includes thirteen species:[2]
- Afrophantes acuminifrons (Bosmans, 1978) – Ethiopia
- Afrophantes biseriatus (Simon & Fage, 1922) – Kenya
- A. b. infans (Simon & Fage, 1922) – Kenya
- Afrophantes bituberculatus (Bosmans, 1978) – Ethiopia
- Afrophantes bryocola (Tanasevitch, 2025) – Ethiopia
- Afrophantes chilalo (Tanasevitch, 2025) – Ethiopia
- Afrophantes coomansi (Bosmans, 1979) – Kenya
- Afrophantes kekenboschi (Bosmans, 1979) – Kenya
- Afrophantes kenyensis (Bosmans, 1979) – Kenya
- Afrophantes legatus (Tanasevitch, 2025) – Ethiopia
- Afrophantes maesi (Bosmans, 1986) – Cameroon
- Afrophantes obtusicornis (Bosmans, 1979) – Kenya
- Afrophantes tropicalis (Tullgren, 1910) – Tanzania
- Afrophantes tullgreni (Bosmans, 1978) – Tanzania
References
- ^ a b c d Tanasevitch, A. V. (2025). "A new genus for the tropicalis species-group of Lepthyphantes Menge, 1866 sensu lato (Linyphiidae: Micronetinae)". Invertebrate Zoology. 22: 360–366. doi:10.15298/invertzool.22.2.10.
- ^ a b c "Gen. Afrophantes Tanasevitch, 2025". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2026-01-19.