Cyatholipus icubatus

Cyatholipus icubatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Cyatholipidae
Genus:	Cyatholipus
Species:	C. icubatus
Binomial name
Cyatholipus icubatus Griswold, 1987 [1]

Cyatholipus icubatus is a species of spider in the family Cyatholipidae. It is endemic to KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. ^{[2] [3]}

Distribution

Cyatholipus icubatus is known from three locations in KwaZulu-Natal: Dlinza Forest near Eshowe, Ngome State Forest, and Ithala Game Reserve. The species occurs at elevations between 512 and 1314 metres above sea level. ^[3]

Habitat

The species builds small horizontal sheet webs in the understory of moist forests. It has been sampled from the Savanna Biome using pitfall traps. ^[3]

Conservation

The species is protected in three protected areas but is likely threatened by habitat loss outside these areas due to crop cultivation and deforestation for fuelwood. It is currently listed as Data Deficient due to limited sampling and the fact that only females are known. ^[3]

References

1. Griswold, C.E. (1987). "A review of the southern African spiders of the family Cyatholipidae Simon, 1894 (Araneae: Araneomorphae)". Annals of the Natal Museum. 28: 499–542.
2. "Cyatholipus icubatus Griswold, 1987". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Cyatholipidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. Irene. pp. 1–27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6759933.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.