Pararaneus cyrtoscapus

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Spiky Field Spider
Pararaneus cyrtoscapus 298869609 538399110.jpg
Female
Pararaneus cyrtoscapus 304148935 548271069.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Pararaneus
Species:
P. cyrtoscapus
Binomial name
Pararaneus cyrtoscapus
(Pocock, 1898) [1]

Pararaneus cyrtoscapus is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. [2] It is commonly known as the spiky field spider and is an African endemic species. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Pararaneus cyrtoscapus is an African endemic species originally described in 1898 as Araneus cyrtoscapus from the type locality Estcourt in South Africa. The species has also been collected from six other African countries including Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Socotra, and Zimbabwe. [3]

In South Africa, the species is known from eight provinces and occurs in more than 10 protected areas at altitudes ranging from 1 to 1,593 m above sea level. [3] The species has a widespread distribution across the country, with records from Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, and Western Cape provinces. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is an orb-weaver with webs made in the field layer. The mature spider makes a typical vertical orb-web while the immature spiders make a horizontal web with a defective frame that is cone-shaped with threads pulling the hub out of the plane of the frame. The species is commonly sampled with a sweep net from the Fynbos, Forest, Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna and Thicket biomes. It has also been sampled from avocado, citrus and pistachio orchards and tomato fields. [3]

Description

Conservation

Pararaneus cyrtoscapus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in more than 13 protected areas. There are no significant threats to the species. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1898 as Araneus cyrtoscapus from Estcourt in South Africa. It was later transferred to the genus Pararaneus. The species has been revised by Grasshoff (1986) and is known from both sexes. [3]

References

  1. ↑ Pocock, R.I. (1898). "Arachnida". Biologia Centrali-Americana. 2: 1–40.
  2. ↑ "Pararaneus Caporiacco, 1940". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N.; Webb, P. (2022). The Araneidae of South Africa. Version 2: part 3 (Ne-U). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 36–37. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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