Platyoides pirie

Pirie forest Scorpion Spider
near Capetown
Conservation status
Least Concern  (SANBI Red List)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Trochanteriidae
Genus:	Platyoides
Species:	P. pirie
Binomial name
Platyoides pirie Platnick, 1985 [1]

Platyoides pirie is a species of spider in the family Trochanteriidae. It is endemic to South Africa. ^[2]

Distribution

Platyoides pirie has been recorded from two provinces in South Africa: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The species was originally described from Pirie Forest in the Eastern Cape and occurs at elevations between 7 and 1,488 m above sea level. ^[3]

Habitat

The species inhabits the Fynbos, Forest, and Savanna biomes. Like other scorpion spiders, it is a free-living wanderer with a flattened body adapted for life in narrow crevices under bark or rocks. ^[3]

Description

Only females of Platyoides pirie are known to science. The opisthosoma is light grey with a slightly darkened cardiac area. ^[3]

Conservation

Despite being known from only one sex, the species is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographic distribution. It is protected in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Asante Sana Private Game Reserve. ^[3]

References

1. Platnick, N.I. (1985). "Studies on Malagasy spiders, 2. The family Trochanteriidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea), with a revision of the genus Platyoides". American Museum Novitates. 2808: 1–17.
2. "Platyoides pirie Platnick, 1985". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Trochanteriidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. Irene. pp. 1–18. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6659336.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.