| Ibala arcus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female | |
 | |
| female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Ibala |
| Species: | I. arcus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ibala arcus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ibala arcus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae. [2] It is a southern African endemic species. [3]
Ibala arcus is distributed across Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. [3] In South Africa, it is recorded from all provinces at altitudes ranging from 47 to 1,645 m above sea level. [3]
The species is a free-living ground dweller, sampled from the Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Succulent Karoo biomes. [3] It has also been sampled from maize fields. [3]
The species mimics velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with whom they are often caught in pitfall traps. [3]
Ibala arcus is known from both sexes. It is a small spider with average total length of 4-6 mm. The carapace and legs are reddish brown, while the abdomen is black with four white spots dorsally joined to form two longitudinal white strips. [3]
Ibala arcus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide distribution range. [3] The species is found in more than 10 protected areas. [3]
The species was originally described by Tucker in 1923 from Warmbaths in Limpopo as Setaphis arcus. [1] It was revised by Fitzpatrick (2009). [3]
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.