Trichothyse zuluensis

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Nkandla Mouse 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: Trichothyse
Species:
T. zuluensis
Binomial name
Trichothyse zuluensis
(Lawrence, 1938) [1]
Synonyms
  • Xerophaeus zuluensisLawrence, 1938

Trichothyse zuluensis is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae. [2] It occurs in southern Africa and is commonly known as the Nkandla mouse ground spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Trichothyse zuluensis is recorded from Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. In South Africa, it is known from two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. [3]

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits multiple biomes including Forest, Nama Karoo, and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 38 to 1706 m above sea level. Trichothyse zuluensis are free-living ground dwellers. [3]

Description

Conservation

Trichothyse zuluensis is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range. The species is protected in Ndumo Game Reserve and Nkandhla Forest and there are no significant threats. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by R. F. Lawrence in 1938 as Xerophaeus zuluensis from Nkandhla Forest. [4] In 2025, Sankaran, Haddad & Tripathi transferred the species to the genus Trichothyse and provided the first description of the male. [2]

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, R.F. (1938). "A collection of spiders from Natal and Zululand". Annals of the Natal Museum. 8: 455–524.
  2. 1 2 "Trichothyse zuluensis (Lawrence, 1938)". World Spider Catalog.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 3 (T-X). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 63. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ Sankaran, P.M.; Haddad, C.R.; Tripathi, R. (2025). "A review of the ground spider genus Trichothyse Tucker, 1923 (Araneae, Gnaphosidae)". Zootaxa. 5583 (1): 39–70. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5583.1.2.
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