Afropisaura rothiformis

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Common Afropisaura grass nursery-web spider
Afropisaura rothiformis 309654344 558802633.jpg
female
Afropisaura rothiformis 309654344 558803289.jpg
female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pisauridae
Genus: Afropisaura
Species:
A. rothiformis
Binomial name
Afropisaura rothiformis
(Strand, 1908) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Pisaura rothiformisStrand, 1908
  • Rothus faradjensisLessert, 1928
  • Pisaura faradjensisRoewer, 1955

Afropisaura rothiformis is a species of spider in the family Pisauridae. [2] It has a wide distribution throughout Africa and is commonly known as the common Afropisaura grass nursery-web spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Afropisaura rothiformis has a wide distribution throughout Africa, including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. [3]

In South Africa, it has been sampled from seven provinces. Localities include Mkambati Nature Reserve and Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape, Irene and Wonderboom in Gauteng, Ndumo Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park in KwaZulu-Natal, Blouberg Nature Reserve and Kruger National Park in Limpopo, Kruger National Park sites in Mpumalanga, Kgaswane Mountain Reserve in North West, and Cederberg Wilderness Area in the Western Cape. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-living nursery-web spider commonly found on vegetation at night. Their movements are erratic as they move swiftly in leaps or jumps. [3]

They are sampled with sweep nets and have been recorded from the Grassland, Savanna and Thicket biomes at altitudes ranging from 1 to 1706 m. [3]

Description

female Afropisaura rothiformis 309654344 558803219.jpg
female

Conservation

Afropisaura rothiformis is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. [3] The species is recorded from 11 protected areas in South Africa. [3] There are no significant threats to the species. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Embrik Strand in 1908 as Pisaura rothiformis from Cameroon. [1] It was transferred to Afropisaura by Blandin in 1976, who also synonymized Pisaura faradjensisLessert, 1928 with this species. [4] The species is known from both sexes and has been revised by Blandin (1976) and Sierwald (1997). [3]

References

  1. 1 2 Strand, E. (1908). "Exotisch-araneologisches. I. Amerikanische, hauptsächlich in Peru, Bolivien und Josemitetal in Californien gesammelte Spinnen. II. Spinnen aus Kamerun. III. Übersicht der bekannten Hysterocrates-Arten. IV. Zur Kenntnis der Aranea rufipalpis (Luc.)". Jahrbücher des Nassauischen Vereins für Naturkunde. 61: 223–295.
  2. 1 2 "Afropisaura rothiformis (Strand, 1908)". Natural History Museum Bern. World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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. pp. 8–9. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ 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 (4): 917–939.
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