// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Pongolania say to its date? "You're a pong in my heart.
| Pongolania | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Phyxelididae |
| Genus: | Pongolania Griswold, 1990[1] |
| Type species | |
| P. pongola Griswold, 1990 | |
| Species | |
| |
Pongolania is a genus of South African araneomorph spiders in the family Phyxelididae, and was first described by C. E. Griswold in 1990.[2] As of September 2025[update] it contains only two species, both endemic to South Africa.[1]
Description
[edit]Pongolania are spiders with total lengths ranging from 4 to 6 mm. The carapace has a fovea that is long, narrowed posteriorly, and deep. The anterior eye] row is slightly recurved while the posterior eye row is straight. The chelicerae are smooth, with the promargin of the fang furrow having 5 or 6 teeth and the retromargin having 4-6 teeth.[3]
The sternum is long with a margin that is angled to sinuate, a narrowed base, and an apex forming a right angle. The abdomen usually displays a dorsal, central longitudinal light band and crossbars, rarely uniform, while the ventral bands are bold and clear. The legs are unmodified with leg formula 1423. Metatarsi II-IV have apical combs, while a pseudocalamistrum is absent. The palpal femur has a row of 2 or 3 stout anterobasal thorns.[3]
Species
[edit]- Pongolania chrysionaria Griswold, 1990
- Pongolania pongola Griswold, 1990
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Gen. Pongolania Griswold, 1990". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
- ↑ Griswold, C. E. (1990). "A revision and phylogenetic analysis of the spider subfamily Phyxelidinae (Araneae, Amaurobiidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 196: 1–206.
- 1 2 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Phyxelididae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 30–31. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6813843. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
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