Olios stictopus

Durban Olios Huntsman Spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Olios
Species:
O. stictopus
Binomial name
Olios stictopus
(Pocock, 1898)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Sparassus (Vindullus) stictopus Pocock, 1898

Olios stictopus is a species of spider in the family Sparassidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Durban Olios huntsman spider.[3]

Distribution

Olios stictopus is known only from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal at an altitude of 17 m above sea level.[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a plant dweller that has been sampled from the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biome.[3]

Description

Conservation

Olios stictopus is listed as data deficient for taxonomic reasons. The species is known only from the type locality and the status of the species remains obscure. More sampling is needed to collect the female and to determine the species' range.[3]

Taxonomy

Olios stictopus was originally described by Pocock in 1898 as Sparassus (Vindullus) stictopus from specimens collected in Durban. The species is known only from male specimens. According to Dippenaar (2022), this species is misplaced in Olios.[3]

References

  1. ^ Pocock, R.I. (1898). "The Arachnida from the province of Natal, South Africa, contained in the collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 2 (9): 197–226. doi:10.1080/00222939808678036.
  2. ^ a b "Olios stictopus (Pocock, 1898)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Sparassidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 30. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6614498. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.