Biology:Diphya simoni
| Simon's Diphya Web Spider | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Diphya |
| Species: | D. simoni
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| Binomial name | |
| Diphya simoni Kauri, 1950[1]
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Diphya simoni is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Simon's Diphya web spider.[3]
Distribution
Diphya simoni is found across five South African provinces: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, and Western Cape. The species has been recorded from numerous locations including Kruger National Park, Table Mountain National Park, and various sites along the Eastern Cape coast.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits Grassland and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 418 to 2,826 m. Specimens have been collected low in grasses using sweep nets.[3]
A photograph documented D. simoni constructing a small vertical orb-web in dead wood at Klapmuts in the Western Cape.[3]
Description
The abdomen is stout and rounded, pale to dark with a pattern. The legs are long and slender with the front legs longer than the others.[3]
The species can be recognized by an anterior row of stiff inflexible setae on the tibia and metatarsi I and II. The male palp features a spine-like cymbial outgrowth.[3]
Conservation
Diphya simoni is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although presently known only from females, the species has a wide geographical range. It is protected in Kruger National Park and Table Mountain National Park.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Hans Kauri in 1950 from Kruger National Park.[1] It was redescribed by Marusik in 2017 and by Omelko, Marusik and Lyle in 2020, who synonymized Diphya tanikawai with D. simoni.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kauri, H. (1950). "On some South African spiders and harvest-spiders". Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapets i Lund Förhandlingar 20 (6): 64-79.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Diphya simoni Kauri, 1950". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/36264.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2023). The Tetragnathidae of South Africa. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 8. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513261.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ↑ Omelko, M.M.; Marusik, Y.M.; Lyle, R. (2020). "A survey of Diphya Nicolet, 1849 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from South Africa". Zootaxa 4899 (1): 259-279. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.14.
External links
- {{Inaturalist taxon}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
Wikidata ☰ Q2384130 entry
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