Ibala bulawayensis

Zimbabwean Spotted Ibala Flat-bellied Ground Spider
male
male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Gnaphosidae
Genus: Ibala
Species:
I. bulawayensis
Binomial name
Ibala bulawayensis
(Tucker, 1923)[1]

Ibala bulawayensis is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.[2] It is a southern African endemic species commonly known as the Zimbabwean spotted Ibala flat-bellied ground spider.[3]

Distribution

Ibala bulawayensis is distributed across Zimbabwe and South Africa.[3] In South Africa, it is recorded from the two provinces Limpopo and Northern Cape.[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-living ground dweller sampled from the Savanna biome, at altitudes ranging from 1,190 to 1,341 m above sea level.[3]

Description

Conservation

Ibala bulawayensis is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range in southern Africa.[3] It is protected in Benfontein Game Reserve and Lhuvhondo Nature Reserve.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Tucker in 1923 from Zimbabwe as Setaphis bulawayensis.[1] It was revised by Fitzpatrick (2009).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Tucker, R.W.E. (1923). "The Drassidae of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 19 (2): 324.
  2. ^ "Ibala bulawayensis (Tucker, 1923)". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 2 (E-S). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 17. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197672. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.