Olios fonticola

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Grahamstown Olios Huntsman Spider
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Olios
Species:
O. fonticola
Binomial name
Olios fonticola
(Pocock, 1902) [1]
Synonyms
  • Sparassus fonticolaPocock, 1902

Olios fonticola is a species of spider in the family Sparassidae. [2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Grahamstown Olios huntsman spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Olios fonticola is known only from the type locality of Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape at an altitude of 552 m above sea level. [3]

Habitat and ecology

Nothing is known about the lifestyle of this species. [3]

Description

Conservation

Olios fonticola is listed as Data Deficient for taxonomic reasons. The species is known only from the type locality and the status of the species remains obscure. More sampling is needed to collect the male and to determine the species' range. [3]

Taxonomy

Olios fonticola was originally described by Pocock in 1902 as Sparassus fonticola from specimens collected at Tea Fountain near Grahamstown. The species is known only from female specimens. According to Jäger (2020), this species is misplaced in Olios and may require generic reassignment in future taxonomic work. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Pocock, R.I. (1902). "Descriptions of some new species of African Solifugae and Araneae". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 10 (55): 6–27. doi:10.1080/00222930208678627.
  2. ↑ "Olios fonticola (Pocock, 1902)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Sparassidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 21. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6614498. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ Jäger, P. (2020). "The spider genus Olios Walckenaer, 1837 (Araneae: Sparassidae) – Part 1: species groups, diagnoses, identification keys, distribution maps and revision of the argelasius-, coenobitus- and auricomis-groups". Zootaxa. 4866 (1): 1–119. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4866.1.1.
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