Urozelotes rusticus

Urozelotes Ground Spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Gnaphosidae
Genus:	Urozelotes
Species:	U. rusticus
Binomial name
Urozelotes rusticus (L. Koch, 1872)
Synonyms
Urozelotes synonyms Melanophora rustica Canestrini & Pavesi, 1870 Drassus razoumowskyi Pavesi, 1873 Drassus cerdo Thorell, 1875 Prosthesima larifuga Simon, 1878 Prosthesima pallida Keyserling, 1878 Drassus agelastus Keyserling, 1891 Prosthesima blanda Banks, 1892 Prosthesima minima Banks, 1892 Prosthesima completa Banks, 1898 Prosthesima lutea F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 Melanophora pacifica Simon, 1899 Zelotes femoralis Banks, 1904 Melanophora porteri Simon, 1904 Drassodes pater Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 Drassodes rotundifoveatus Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 Scotophaeus blepharotrichus Strand, 1915 Drassyllus blandus Chamberlin, 1922 Drassyllus femoralis Chamberlin, 1922 Drassyllus liopus Chamberlin, 1922 Camillina amnicola Tucker, 1923 Haplodrassus magister Chamberlin, 1933 Drassyllus abdalbus Chamberlin, 1936 Urozelotes cardiogynus Mello-Leitão, 1938 Zelotes scutatus Mello-Leitão, 1939 Drassodes malodes Tikader, 1962 Camillina gigas Schmidt, 1973

Urozelotes rusticus is a cosmopolitan spider species in the family Gnaphosidae. It is the type species of the genus Urozelotes.

Distribution

Urozelotes rusticus is probably native to Europe and the Mediterranean region extending to temperate Asia, but has been introduced to both Americas, tropical Africa, Australia, and South Africa.

In South Africa, it occurs across seven provinces: Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, at altitudes ranging from 109 to 1,688 m above sea level.

Habitat and ecology

Urozelotes rusticus is a free-living ground dweller. In South Africa, it is found in Fynbos, Grassland, and Savanna biomes. Due to its synanthropic habits, U. rusticus is most frequently found in buildings but also occurs in gardens, pastures, citrus orchards, oak forests, and caves. Its widespread occurrence in human-modified environments has contributed to its global distribution. The species' biology is otherwise largely unknown.

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

Adults of Urozelotes rusticus have a red-brown prosoma and opisthosoma, with the opisthosoma bearing a dark brown scuticula. The legs are lighter in colouration than the prosoma. The tibial apophysis is distally bent and has a robust tip. Males measure 7–8 mm in body length, while females are somewhat larger, ranging from 7.8 to 10.2 mm.

Conservation

Urozelotes rusticus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide global range. The species is protected in four nature reserves in South Africa.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by L. Koch in 1872 as Prosthesima rustica. It was later transferred to Urozelotes by Platnick & Murphy in 1984, in their revision of the genera Trachyzelotes and Urozelotes, at which time they also synonymised numerous other species with it. The species has probably accumulated the longest list of synonyms of any gnaphosid species due to its widespread distribution and synanthropic habits. It is known from both sexes and has been revised by Platnick and Murphy.

External links

• Citizen science observations for Urozelotes rusticus at iNaturalist