Rothus vittatus
| Cape Rothus nursery-web spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Pisauridae |
| Genus: | Rothus |
| Species: | R. vittatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rothus vittatus | |
Rothus vittatus is a spider species in the family Pisauridae.[2] The species is commonly known as the Cape Rothus nursery-web spider.[3]
Distribution
Rothus vittatus is endemic to South Africa, where it has been sampled from three provinces: Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.[3]
Habitat and ecology
These are free-running plant dwellers very commonly found on plants at night.[3]
The species has been sampled from the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama Karoo, and Thicket biomes at altitudes ranging from 4 to 951 m. It has also been sampled from pistachio orchards.[3]
Description
Conservation
Rothus vittatus is listed as Least Concern. Although the species is presently known only from females, it has a wide geographical range. The species is protected in Swartberg Nature Reserve and Table Mountain National Park. There are no significant threats to the species.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was described by Simon in 1898, with the type locality given only as Cape of Good Hope.[1] It was revised by Silva and Sierwald in 2015 and is known only from the female.[4]
References
- ^ a b Simon, E. (1898). "Descriptions d'arachnides nouveaux des familles des Agelenidae, Pisauridae, Lycosidae et Oxyopidae". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 42: 5–34.
- ^ "Rothus vittatus Simon, 1898". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Pisauridae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 54. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Silva, E.L.C. da; Sierwald, P. (2015). "First description of the male of Rothus vittatus Simon, 1898 (Araneae: Pisauridae), with a review of the African nursery web spider genus Rothus Simon, 1898". African Invertebrates. 56 (2): 325–341. doi:10.5733/afin.056.0207.