| Simon's Diphya Web Spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Diphya |
| Species: | D. simoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Diphya simoni | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Diphya simoni is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae. [2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Simon's Diphya web spider. [3]
Diphya simoni is found across five South African provinces: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, and Western Cape. The species has been recorded from numerous locations including Kruger National Park, Table Mountain National Park, and various sites along the Eastern Cape coast. [3]
The species inhabits Grassland and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 418 to 2,826 m. Specimens have been collected low in grasses using sweep nets. [3]
A photograph documented D. simoni constructing a small vertical orb-web in dead wood at Klapmuts in the Western Cape. [3]
The abdomen is stout and rounded, pale to dark with a pattern. The legs are long and slender with the front legs longer than the others. [3]
The species can be recognized by an anterior row of stiff inflexible setae on the tibia and metatarsi I and II. The male palp features a spine-like cymbial outgrowth. [3]
Diphya simoni is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although presently known only from females, the species has a wide geographical range. It is protected in Kruger National Park and Table Mountain National Park. [3]
The species was originally described by Hans Kauri in 1950 from Kruger National Park. [1] It was redescribed by Marusik in 2017 and by Omelko, Marusik and Lyle in 2020, who synonymized Diphya tanikawai with D. simoni. [4]
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.