Simorcus cotti
| Cotti's Simorcus Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
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| female | |
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| female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Simorcus |
| Species: | S. cotti |
| Binomial name | |
| Simorcus cotti | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Simorcus cotti is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is commonly known as Cotti's Simorcus crab spider and occurs in several African countries.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Simorcus cotti is known from Tanzania, Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, the species has been documented from Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]Simorcus cotti was collected by beating and sweeping grass, trees, shrubs, and herbs in Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes, at altitudes ranging from 4 to 1,758 m.[3]
The species has been collected from various tree species, including:[3]
- several Acacia species
- Aloe marlothii
- Burkea africana
- Croton sylvaticus
- Helichrysum species
- Panicum species
- fever trees
- Pappea capensis
- Philenoptera violacea
- Pterocarpus rotundifolius
- Sclerocarya birrea
- Spigumnosporia species
- Spirostachus africana
- Terminalia sericea woodland.[4]
Adult males were sampled from November to March and females from December to March.[4] The species has also been sampled from citrus orchards.[4]
Description
[edit]
female
female
female
female
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Conservation
[edit]Simorcus cotti is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is recorded in more than ten protected areas throughout South Africa.[3]
Etymology
[edit]The species is named after B.-B. Cott, who collected specimens during the expedition to Portuguese East Africa.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]Simorcus cotti was described by Roger de Lessert in 1936 from Mozambique.[1] Van Niekerk and Dippenaar-Schoeman synonymized Simorcus zuluanus with this species in 2010. The species was revised by Van Niekerk and Dippenaar-Schoeman in 2010 and is known from both sexes.[4]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Lessert, R. de (1936). "Araignées de l'Afrique orientale portugaise, recueillies par MM. P. Lesne et B.-B. Cott". Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 43: 207–306. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.144393.
- 1 2 3 "Simorcus cotti Lessert, 1936". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. 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 2 My-R. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 64. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513276.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license. - 1 2 3 4 van Niekerk, P.; Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (2010). "A revision of the spider genus Simorcus Simon, 1895 (Araneae: Thomisidae) of the Afrotropical region". African Entomology. 18: 66–86. doi:10.4001/003.018.0108.
