Biology:Afrarchaea cornuta
| Long-necked assassin spider | |
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| female | |
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| juvenile male | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Archaeidae |
| Genus: | Afrarchaea |
| Species: | A. cornuta
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| Binomial name | |
| Afrarchaea cornuta (Lotz, 2003)
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| Synonyms | |
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Afrarchaea cornuta is a species of spider of the genus Afrarchaea. It is endemic to South Africa.[1]
Etymology
The species name cornuta means "horned" in Latin.
Distribution
Afrarchaea cornuta is known only from Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. The species has an extremely restricted range at an elevation of 444 metres above sea level.[2]
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female -
female
Habitat
The species inhabits the ecotone between coastal forest and grassland within the Grassland and Savanna biomes. This specialized transitional habitat represents a unique ecological niche.[2]
Description
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juvenile male -
juvenile male -
juvenile male
Afrarchaea cornuta exhibits the characteristic features of the genus, including a greatly elevated cephalic region and elongated chelicerae. Both males and females are known for this species.[3]
Conservation status
Afrarchaea cornuta is classified as Vulnerable under criterion D2 by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The species has likely lost extensive habitat in the past as areas surrounding Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve have been severely transformed for crop cultivation. While the species receives some protection within the reserve, this area is very small and remains vulnerable to disturbance and invasion by alien plant species.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Lotz in 2003 as Archaea cornutus.[3] The female was described in 2006 as Eriauchenius cornutus, before Wood & Scharff transferred the species to Afrarchaea in 2018.[4]
References
- ↑ "Afrarchaea cornuta (Lotz, 2003)". World Spider Catalog. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/5457. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). "South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide: The Archaeidae of South Africa". Version 1: 1–20. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5982745.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lotz, L.N. (2003). "Afrotropical Archaeidae: 2. New species of the genera Archaea and Afrarchaea (Arachnida: Araneae)". Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum Bloemfontein 19: 221–240.
- ↑ Wood, H.M.; Scharff, N. (2018). "A review of the Madagascan pelican spiders of the genera Eriauchenius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1881 and Madagascarchaea gen. n. (Araneae, Archaeidae)". ZooKeys (727): 1–96. doi:10.3897/zookeys.727.20222. Bibcode: 2018ZooK..727....1W.
External links
- {{Inaturalist taxon}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
Wikidata ☰ Q59204357 entry
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