Nomisia varia

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Common Spotted Nomisia Ground Spider
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Gnaphosidae
Genus: Nomisia
Species:
N. varia
Binomial name
Nomisia varia
(Tucker, 1923) [1]
Synonyms
  • Callilepis variusTucker, 1923
  • Pterotricha variaRoewer, 1955

Nomisia varia is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae. [2] It occurs in southern Africa and is commonly known as the common spotted Nomisia ground spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Nomisia varia has a very wide distribution across southern Africa, occurring in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. In South Africa, it occurs in all nine provinces at altitudes ranging from 6 to 1,730 m above sea level. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-living ground spider that constructs silken sacs under stones and surface debris. It is found in Fynbos, Grassland, Savanna, and Thicket biomes, and has also been sampled from agricultural areas including cotton fields and pistachio orchards. [3]

Description

Conservation

Nomisia varia is listed as Least Concern due to its very wide range across southern Africa, occurring in all South African provinces. Although threatened by habitat loss for agricultural activities and urbanization in parts of its range, the species has a wide distribution. It is protected in more than ten protected areas. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Tucker in 1923 as Callilepis varius from the junction between the Crocodile and Marico Rivers. It was transferred to Pterotricha by Roewer in 1955, and then to the genus Nomisia by Murphy in 2007. [3]

References

  1. Tucker, R. W. E. (1923). "The Drassidae of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 19 (2): 251–437.
  2. "Nomisia varia (Tucker, 1923)". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 2 (E-S). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 38. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197672. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.