Zelotes scrutatus

Zelotes scrutatus
	female
	female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Gnaphosidae
Genus:	Zelotes
Species:	Z. scrutatus
Binomial name
	Zelotes scrutatus; (Octavius Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)
Synonyms
	Z. scrutatus synonyms Drassus scrutatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 ; Melanophora picina O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 ; Melanophora scutata O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 ; Prosthesima curina O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874 ; Prosthesima impexa Simon, 1886 ; Melanophora o'neili Purcell, 1907 ; Setaphis bechuanica Purcell, 1908 ; Setaphis anchoralis Purcell, 1908 ; Zelotes oneili Tucker, 1923 ; Zelotes demonaica Lawrence, 1927 ; Drassodes cofiniotes Roewer, 1928 ; Zelotes simplex Denis, 1937 ; Zelotes sidama Caporiacco, 1941 ; Zelotes bucharensis Charitonov, 1946 ;

Zelotes scrutatus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.^[2] It has a wide distribution throughout Africa and beyond.^[3]

Distribution

Zelotes scrutatus has a wide distribution throughout Africa, extending to the Canary Islands, Italy (Sicily), Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Central Asia.^[2] In South Africa, it has been sampled from all provinces.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is found from 45 to 1,758 m above sea level. They are free-running ground spiders found under stones during the day and inhabit the Fynbos, Nama Karoo, Thicket, Grassland, and Savanna biomes. Z. scrutatus has also been sampled from citrus and pistachio orchards and cotton, maize, and sunflower fields.^[3]

Description

Conservation

Zelotes scrutatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range. The species is recorded from more than ten protected areas. There are no significant threats to the species.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1872 as Drassus scrutatus. Fitzpatrick (2007) revised the species and synonymized numerous species with this taxon, demonstrating its widespread distribution and taxonomic complexity. It is known from both sexes.^[3]

References

^ Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1872). "General list of the spiders of Palestine and Syria, with descriptions of numerous new species, and characters of two new genera". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 40 (1): 212–354. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1872.tb00489.x.
^ ^a ^b "Zelotes scrutatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 46–47. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197783. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

External links

Citizen science observations for Zelotes scrutatus at iNaturalist

[cambridge1872-1] Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1872). "General list of the spiders of Palestine and Syria, with descriptions of numerous new species, and characters of two new genera". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 40 (1): 212–354. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1872.tb00489.x.

[wsc-2] "Zelotes scrutatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-25.

[dippenaar2021-3] Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 46–47. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197783. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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