Urozelotes rusticus

Urozelotes Ground Spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Gnaphosidae
Genus:	Urozelotes
Species:	U. rusticus
Binomial name
Urozelotes rusticus (L. Koch, 1872) [1]
Synonyms
Urozelotes synonyms Melanophora rustica Canestrini & Pavesi, 1870 Drassus razoumowskyi Pavesi, 1873 Drassus cerdoThorell, 1875 Prosthesima larifuga Simon, 1878 Prosthesima pallidaKeyserling, 1878 Drassus agelastusKeyserling, 1891 Prosthesima blandaBanks, 1892 Prosthesima minimaBanks, 1892 Prosthesima completaBanks, 1898 Prosthesima luteaF. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 Melanophora pacificaSimon, 1899 Zelotes femoralis Banks, 1904 Melanophora porteriSimon, 1904 Drassodes pater Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 Drassodes rotundifoveatusBösenberg & Strand, 1906 Scotophaeus blepharotrichus Strand, 1915 Drassyllus blandus Chamberlin, 1922 Drassyllus femoralisChamberlin, 1922 Drassyllus liopusChamberlin, 1922 Camillina amnicola Tucker, 1923 Haplodrassus magister Chamberlin, 1933 Drassyllus abdalbusChamberlin, 1936 Urozelotes cardiogynus Mello-Leitão, 1938 Zelotes scutatusMello-Leitão, 1939 Drassodes malodesTikader, 1962 Camillina gigasSchmidt, 1973

Urozelotes rusticus is a cosmopolitan spider species in the family Gnaphosidae. ^[2] It is the type species of the genus Urozelotes .

Distribution

Urozelotes rusticus is probably native to Europe and the Mediterranean region extending to temperate Asia, but has been introduced to both Americas, tropical Africa, Australia, and South Africa. ^[2]

In South Africa, it occurs across seven provinces: Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, at altitudes ranging from 109 to 1,688 m above sea level. ^[3]

Habitat and ecology

Urozelotes rusticus is a free-living ground dweller. In South Africa, it is found in Fynbos, Grassland, and Savanna biomes. Due to its synanthropic habits, U. rusticus is most frequently found in buildings but also occurs in gardens, pastures, citrus orchards, oak forests, and caves. Its widespread occurrence in human-modified environments has contributed to its global distribution. ^[3]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

Conservation

Urozelotes rusticus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide global range. The species is protected in four nature reserves in South Africa. ^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by L. Koch in 1872 as Prosthesima rustica. It was later transferred to Urozelotes by Platnick & Murphy in 1984, who also synonymized numerous other species with it. The species has probably accumulated the longest list of synonyms of any gnaphosid species due to its widespread distribution and synanthropic habits. It is known from both sexes and has been revised by Platnick and Murphy. ^[3]

References

1. Koch, L. (1872). "Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Arachnidenfauna Tirols. Zweite Abhandlung". Zeitschrift des Ferdinandeums für Tirol und Vorarlberg. 17 (3): 239–328.
2. "Urozelotes rusticus (L. Koch, 1872)". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-09-25.
3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 3 (T-X). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 30. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197741.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

External links

• Citizen science observations for Urozelotes rusticus at iNaturalist