Diaea puncta
| Spotted Diaea crab spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female | |
 | |
| male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Diaea |
| Species: | D. puncta |
| Binomial name | |
| Diaea puncta Karsch, 1884[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Diaea puncta is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is found throughout Africa and is commonly known as spotted Diaea crab spider.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Diaea puncta is found widely throughout Africa. In southern Africa it is known from Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, it is known from all the provinces.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]Diaea puncta inhabits all the floral biomes except the Desert Biome at altitudes ranging from 4 to 2020 m above sea level.[3]
These free-living plant dwellers very commonly found on vegetation. The species was also sampled from crops including avocado, cotton, pistachio and strawberries.[3]
Description
[edit]
female
female
male
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Conservation
[edit]Diaea puncta is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. It is protected in more than ten protected areas.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]Diaea puncta was described by Karsch in 1884 from Ilhéu das Rolas, an island in São Tomé. Mello-Leitão created the superfluous replacement name Diaea pluripuncta in 1929.[2]
References
[edit]- ↑ Karsch, F. (1884). "Arachnoidea". Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft zur Beförderung der Gesamten Naturwissenschaften zu Marburg. 2: 60–68.
- 1 2 3 "Diaea puncta Karsch, 1884". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-Mo. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 22. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513274.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
