Themacrys irrorata

Hluluwe Themacrys Hackled Band Spider
	Female
	Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Phyxelididae
Genus:	Themacrys
Species:	T. irrorata
Binomial name
	Themacrys irrorata; Simon, 1906
Synonyms
	Haemilla australis Lawrence, 1937 ;

Themacrys irrorata is a species of spider in the family Phyxelididae.^[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Hluluwe Themacrys hackled band spider.^[3] The species serves as the type species for its genus.^[2]

Distribution

Themacrys irrorata is distributed across three South African provinces, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga.^[3] The species occurs at altitudes ranging from 17 to 1,795 m above sea level.

Habitat and ecology

This species inhabits the Grassland, Savanna, and Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biomes.^[3] Themacrys irrorata is a ground retreat-web cryptic spider that lives in dark places. This is a forest species found in coastal evergreen forest, coastal dune forest, and indigenous forest.^[3]

Description

Female
Juvenile female
Juvenile female

Conservation

Themacrys irrorata is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.^[3] The species is recorded from three provinces including four protected areas: Enseleni Nature Reserve, Hluhluwe Nature Reserve, Dlinza Forest, and Ngotsche State Forest. Due to its wide geographical range, there are no significant threats to the species.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Eugène Simon in 1906 from Hluhluwe Nature Reserve.^[1] It was revised by Griswold in 1990.^[3] Themacrys irrorata serves as the type species for the genus Themacrys and is known from both sexes.^[3]

References

1 2 Simon, E. (1906). "Etude sur les araignées de la section des cribellates". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 50: 284–308. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.19947.
1 2 "Themacrys irrorata Simon, 1906". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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. p. 25. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6813843. Retrieved 24 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

External links

Citizen science observations for Themacrys irrorata at iNaturalist

[simon1906-1] 1 2 Simon, E. (1906). "Etude sur les araignées de la section des cribellates". Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 50: 284–308. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.19947.

[wsc-2] 1 2 "Themacrys irrorata Simon, 1906". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 September 2025.

[dippenaar2021-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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. p. 25. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6813843. Retrieved 24 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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