Monaeses austrinus
| White Band Monaeses Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Monaeses |
| Species: | M. austrinus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Monaeses austrinus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Monaeses austrinus is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is endemic to Africa and is commonly known as the white band Monaeses crab spider.[3]
Distribution
Monaeses austrinus is found in Botswana, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Eswatini.[2]
In South Africa, the species occurs in all nine provinces including more than 20 protected areas.[3] Notable locations include Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and Pilanesberg National Park.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Monaeses austrinus inhabits grass and low vegetation and is easily collected with a sweepnet.[3] The species is abundant in Forest, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Nama Karoo, Grassland, Thicket and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 1 to 2,253 m.[3]
The species has also been sampled from cotton and pistachio plantations.[3]
Females have been collected in January, February, April and May, while males have been collected from November to April, mainly from grass.[3]
Description
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female
-
male
-
male
Conservation
Monaeses austrinus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range.[3] The species is protected in more than 20 protected areas.[3]
Taxonomy
Monaeses austrinus was originally described by Eugène Simon in 1910 with the type locality given only as South Africa.[1] The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1984, who synonymized Monaeses magnus and M. voltaensis with this species.[4]
References
- ^ a b Simon, E. (1910). "Arachnoidea: Araneae (II.)". Denkschriften der Medizinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena. 16: 175–218.
- ^ a b "Monaeses austrinus Simon, 1910". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-Mo. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 54. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513274. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1984). "The crab-spiders of southern Africa (Araneae: Thomisidae). 4. The genus Monaeses Thorell, 1869". Phytophylactica. 16: 101–116.