Themacrys irrorata
| Hluluwe Themacrys Hackled Band Spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Phyxelididae |
| Genus: | Themacrys |
| Species: | T. irrorata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Themacrys irrorata | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Themacrys irrorata is a species of spider in the family Phyxelididae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Hluluwe Themacrys hackled band spider.[3] The species serves as the type species for its genus.[2]
Distribution
Themacrys irrorata is distributed across three South African provinces, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga.[3] The species occurs at altitudes ranging from 17 to 1,795 m above sea level.
Habitat and ecology
This species inhabits the Grassland, Savanna, and Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biomes.[3] Themacrys irrorata is a ground retreat-web cryptic spider that lives in dark places. This is a forest species found in coastal evergreen forest, coastal dune forest, and indigenous forest.[3]
Description
-
female
-
juvenile female
-
juvenile female
Conservation
Themacrys irrorata is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.[3] The species is recorded from three provinces including four protected areas: Enseleni Nature Reserve, Hluhluwe Nature Reserve, Dlinza Forest, and Ngotsche State Forest. Due to its wide geographical range, there are no significant threats to the species.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Eugène Simon in 1906 from Hluhluwe Nature Reserve.[1] It was revised by Griswold in 1990.[3] Themacrys irrorata serves as the type species for the genus Themacrys and is known from both sexes.[3]
References
- ^ a b Simon, E. (1906). "Etude sur les araignées de la section des cribellates". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 50: 284–308. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.19947.
- ^ a b "Themacrys irrorata Simon, 1906". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Phyxelididae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 25. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6813843. Retrieved 24 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.