Afropisaura

Afropisaura
	female A. rothiformis
	A. ducis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Pisauridae
Genus:	Afropisaura ; Blandin, 1976
Type species
	A. valida ; (Simon, 1886)
Species
	A. ducis(Strand, 1913) ; A. rothiformis(Strand, 1908) ; A. valida(Simon, 1886) ;

Last updated October 09, 2025

Afropisaura is a genus of African nursery web spiders that was first described by P. Blandin in 1976.^[2] Its three described species are found in Africa.^[1]

Description

Females measure 9 to 14 mm in body length, while males range from 11 to 13 mm, with males having longer legs than females. The carapace is as wide as long and narrower in the eye region. Eight eyes are arranged in two rows, with the anterior eye row slightly procurved and the posterior row recurved. The posterior row is slightly wider than the anterior row, and the anterior median eyes are smallest. The chelicerae bear three equally-sized cheliceral teeth.^[3]

The abdomen is elongated, tapering towards the back, and usually bears plumose setae. The legs have three claws and are relatively long, sometimes slightly laterigrade. Setae are present on the patellae, femora, tibiae and metatarsi. The tarsi have trichobothria arranged in two rows or scattered. The trochanters are deeply notched.^[3]

Taxonomy

The genus Afropisaura was described by Blandin in 1976. Species were formerly placed in the genus Pisaura. The genus has been revised by Blandin (1976) and Sierwald (1997), though specimens from southern Africa were not included in the revision.^[3]

Species

As of October 2025^[update], this genus includes three species:^[1]

Afropisaura ducis (Strand, 1913) – West, Central, East Africa, South Africa
Afropisaura rothiformis (Strand, 1908) – Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, DR Congo, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa
Afropisaura valida (Simon, 1886) – West, Central Africa (type species)

References

1 2 3 "Genus Afropisaura". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 1 October 2025.
↑ Blandin, P. (1976). "Etudes sur les Pisauridae africaines VI. Définition des genres Pisaura Simon, 1885, Pisaurellus Roewer, 1961, Afropisaura n. gen. et mise au point sur les espèces des genres Afropisaura and Pisaurellus (Araneae - Pisauridae - Pisaurinae)". Revue Zoologique Africaine. 90: 917–939.
1 2 3 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. 6. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

External links

Citizen science observations for Afropisaura at iNaturalist

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[wsc-1] 1 2 3 "Genus Afropisaura". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 1 October 2025.

[Blan1976-2] Blandin, P. (1976). "Etudes sur les Pisauridae africaines VI. Définition des genres Pisaura Simon, 1885, Pisaurellus Roewer, 1961, Afropisaura n. gen. et mise au point sur les espèces des genres Afropisaura and Pisaurellus (Araneae - Pisauridae - Pisaurinae)". Revue Zoologique Africaine. 90: 917–939.

[dippenaar2020-3] 1 2 3 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. 6. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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