Charminus atomarius
| Umhlali Charminus nursery-web spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Pisauridae |
| Genus: | Charminus |
| Species: | C. atomarius |
| Binomial name | |
| Charminus atomarius | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Charminus atomarius is a species of spider in the family Pisauridae.[2] It is found in four African countries and is commonly known as the Umhlali Charminus nursery-web spider.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Charminus atomarius has been recorded from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.[3]
In South Africa, it has been recorded from two provinces at altitudes ranging from 43 to 839 m.[3]
South African localities include Ndumo Game Reserve, Tembe Elephant Park, Pietermaritzburg, Umhlali, Ithala Nature Reserve and uMkhuze Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, and Hoedspruit in Limpopo.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]The species is found inhabiting grasses, herbs and low-growing shrubs, especially in shaded areas. They are active at night and are usually sampled with sweep nets from the Savanna biome.[3]
Description
[edit]The legs are pale and lightly banded. The abdomen has a dark pattern bordered by white, sometimes with a pair of white spots. The carapace has a median pale band bordered by two darker bands.[3]
Conservation
[edit]Charminus atomarius is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range.[3] The species is protected in Ndumo Game Reserve, Tembe Elephant Park, Ithala Nature Reserve and uMkhuze Game Reserve.[3] There are no significant threats to the species.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]The species was originally described by Lawrence in 1942 as Cispius atomarius from Umhlali in KwaZulu-Natal.[1] It was transferred to Charminus by Blandin in 1978, who also synonymized Cispius quadrimaculatus Roewer, 1955 with this species.[4] The species is known from both sexes and has been revised by Blandin (1978).[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Lawrence, R.F. (1942). "A contribution to the araneid fauna of Natal and Zululand". Annals of the Natal Museum. 10: 141–190.
- 1 2 "Charminus atomarius (Lawrence, 1942)". Natural History Museum Bern. World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- 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 Pisauridae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 12. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license. - ↑ Blandin, P. (1978). "Etudes sur les Pisauridae africaines IX. Mise au point sur les genres Cispius Simon, 1898 et Charminus Thorell, 1899 (Araneae - Pisauridae - Pisaurinae)". Revue Zoologique Africaine. 92 (1): 37–76.