| Mpumalanga Anyphops Flat Spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Selenopidae |
| Genus: | Anyphops |
| Species: | A. fitzsimonsi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anyphops fitzsimonsi (Lawrence, 1940)1
| |
Anyphops fitzsimonsi is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.2 It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Mpumalanga Anyphops flat spider.3
Distribution
Anyphops fitzsimonsi occurs in three South African provinces: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and North West.3 Notable localities include Barberton, Nelspruit, Pretoria, and the Lowveld National Botanical Garden.3
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits Savanna and Grassland biomes at altitudes ranging from 270 to 1394 m above sea level.3 These are free-living cryptozoic nocturnal spiders that have been sampled from trees in avocado, macadamia and citrus orchards and commercial pine plantations.3 Specimens have also been found in houses.3
Description
Known only from the male.3 The carapace is yellow-brown without radiations from thoracic striae, with a lighter parallel-sided broad yellow area behind the eyes as wide as the ocular row, bisected by the striae which continues as a brown stripe onto the cephalic region.3
The broad median area of carapace is bordered at the sides by a wavy brown line, and the eyes are black. The opisthosoma is yellow above with a few indistinct brown markings, while the under surface and legs are yellow without black bands. The anterior tibiae have 6 pairs of inferior spines.3
Total length is 8.6 mm.3
Conservation
Anyphops fitzsimonsi is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range.3 The species receives protection in the Lowveld National Botanical Garden and Bergvliet State Forest.3
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops fitzsimonsi from Barberton in Mpumalanga.1 It was later transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.3
References
References
- Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 32: 596. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.5227.
- "Anyphops fitzsimonsi (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Selenopidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 21. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.