// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Anyphops caledonicus say? I'm stuck on you.
| Anyphops caledonicus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Selenopidae |
| Genus: | Anyphops |
| Species: | A. caledonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Anyphops caledonicus (Lawrence, 1940)[1] | |
Anyphops caledonicus is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Anyphops caledonicus is found in South Africa.[2] The species is endemic to the Western Cape, known from Caledon and Bontebok National Park at 237 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]The species inhabits the Fynbos biome.[3] Little is known about their behaviour.[3]
Description
[edit]The species is known only from females.[3] The carapace is light yellow-brown with a Y-shaped darker marking formed by the thoracic striae and posterior boundaries of the cephalic area, with a few small dark spots halfway between the striae and lateral margins.[3]
The opisthosoma above has 3 pairs of short curved blackish bars. There are well-defined brown bands on femora and tibiae of all legs. Tibia I and II have 5, metatarsus I and II have 3 pairs of inferior spines. Total length is 7-8 mm.[3]
Conservation
[edit]Anyphops caledonicus is listed as Data Deficient for taxonomic reasons.[3] The status of the species remains obscure. More sampling is needed to collect males and determine the species' range. It is protected in Bontebok National Park.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]The species was originally described by R. F. Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops caledonicus from Caledon.[1] It was transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 32: 574.
- 1 2 "Anyphops caledonicus (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 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. p. 16. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.