Hyllus argyrotoxus

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Black And White Hyllus Jumping Spider
Hyllus argyrotoxus 298928426 538506505.jpg
female
Hyllus argyrotoxus 310418241 560250202.jpg
male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Hyllus
Species:
H. argyrotoxus
Binomial name
Hyllus argyrotoxus
Simon, 1902 [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Hyllus perspicuusPeckham & Peckham, 1903

Hyllus argyrotoxus is a species of spider in the family Salticidae. [2] It is found in Africa and is commonly known as the black and white Hyllus jumping spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Hyllus argyrotoxus is distributed across a wide area in Africa, being found in Botswana, Eswatini, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe [2] .

In South Africa, the species has a wide distribution and is known from the provinces Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Western Cape. [3]

Habitat and ecology

male Hyllus argyrotoxus 312617521 564455739.jpg
male

This species is a highly mobile plant-dwelling spider, moving boldly through low vegetation. It is mainly collected from shrubs and trees. [3] Females construct retreats with egg sacs on the underside of leaves, using silk to fold the leaf into a broad tube. [3]

In South Africa, Hyllus argyrotoxus inhabits multiple biomes including Fynbos, Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna and Thicket, at altitudes ranging from 17 to 1558 m. The species has also been found in agricultural ecosystems such as avocado, citrus, cotton and macadamia orchards. [3]

Description

Conservation

Hyllus argyrotoxus is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range across South Africa. It is protected in more than ten protected areas including Addo Elephant National Park, Kruger National Park, and Hluhluwe-IMfolozi Park. [3]

Taxonomy

Hyllus argyrotoxus was originally described by Eugène Simon in 1902 from South Africa, with the type locality given only as "Zululand". [1] The species was redescribed by Wesołowska and Russell-Smith in 2000. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 Simon, E. (1902). "Etudes arachnologiques. 32e Mémoire. LI. Descriptions d'espèces nouvelles de la famille des Salticidae (suite)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 71 (1–2): 389–421.
  2. 1 2 3 "Hyllus argyrotoxus Simon, 1902". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Walt, V. van der; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2025). The Salticidae of South Africa. Part 3 (He-Iran). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 54. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17103454. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ Wesołowska, W.; Russell-Smith, A. (2000). "Jumping spiders from Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania (Araneae Salticidae)". Tropical Zoology. 13 (1): 11–127. doi:10.1080/03946975.2000.10531126.
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