Biology:Anyphops capensis
| Cape Anyphops Flat Spider | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Selenopidae |
| Genus: | Anyphops |
| Species: | A. capensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Anyphops capensis (Lawrence, 1940)[1]
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Anyphops capensis is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Cape anyphops flat spider.[3]
Distribution
Anyphops capensis is found in South Africa.[2] The species occurs in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces, at altitudes ranging from 7 to 1513 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits the Fynbos biome.[3] These are free-living cryptozoic nocturnal spiders that have been collected from under bark in eucalyptus plantations and fynbos. They are also found in houses on walls.[3]
Description
The species is known from both sexes.[3] The carapace is yellow-brown with darker radii from the thoracic striae, with the cephalic portion a little darker than the thoracic portion. The opisthosoma above is yellow-brown with small scattered blackish dots, darker towards the posterior apex, especially at the sides and just above the spinners. The dark dots on the posterior portion are characteristic.[3]
The legs are not strongly banded, with tibiae having two light and two dark bands. Anterior tibiae have 6 pairs of inferior spines. Total length is 13-14 mm in females and 12-13 mm in males.[3]
Conservation
Anyphops capensis is listed as Least Concern due to the wide geographical range.[3] There are no known threats to the species. It is protected in Mountain Zebra National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, and Table Mountain National Park.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by R. F. Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops capensis from Cape Town.[1] It was transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum 32: 594.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Anyphops capensis (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/33955. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Selenopidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 17. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Wikidata ☰ Q3095101 entry
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