Diphya vanderwaltae

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Vanderwalt's Diphya Web Spider
Diphya vanderwaltae.png
Dorsal view of Diphya vanderwalta
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Tetragnathidae
Genus: Diphya
Species:
D. vanderwaltae
Binomial name
Diphya vanderwaltae
Omelko, Marusik & Lyle, 2020 [1]

Diphya vanderwaltae is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae. [2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Vanderwalt's Diphya web spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Diphya vanderwaltae is known only from Cwebe Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The species was collected while sifting leaf litter from coastal dune forest. [3] The species range is very small. [3]

Description

The species is only known from females.The female of Diphya vanderwaltae is small (total length ~3.3 mm (0.13 in)) and predominantly dark: a dark-brown carapace with an indistinct median band, a uniformly black sternum, dark-grey femora with fine yellowish longitudinal lines, and a largely patternless dark-grey abdomen with a few guanine spots; the epigyne bears a triangular septum with closely spaced copulatory openings. [1]

Conservation

Diphya vanderwaltae is listed as Data Deficient by the South African National Biodiversity Institute for taxonomic reasons. [3] A rare species, more sampling is needed around Cwebe to determine the range and to collect males. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 Omelko, M.M.; Marusik, Y.M.; Lyle, R. (2020). "A survey of Diphya Nicolet, 1849 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from South Africa". Zootaxa. 4899 (1): 259–279. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.14.
  2. ↑ "Diphya vanderwaltae Omelko, Marusik & Lyle, 2020". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2023). The Tetragnathidae of South Africa. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 9. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513261. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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