Scytodes silvatica
| Forest Spitting Spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Scytodidae |
| Genus: | Scytodes |
| Species: | S. silvatica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scytodes silvatica | |
Scytodes silvatica is a species of spider in the family Scytodidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the forest spitting spider.[3]
Distribution
[edit | edit source]Scytodes silvatica is found in two South African provinces, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit | edit source]The species inhabits the Forest, Savanna and Thicket biomes at altitudes ranging from 1 to 1479 m above sea level. It is a wandering spider commonly collected from under stones and dark places on the soil surface.[3]
Description
[edit | edit source]Scytodes silvatica has a deep brown or purplish-black colour, mottled with yellow. The carapace has a well-developed median stripe lying between a pair of broader yellow stripes, on each side of which is a very broad, curved, black band. The latter bears a small yellow spot just before the middle of the carapace. The sides of the carapace are broadly blackened inferiorly, with a row of four yellow spots on each side and a row of larger or smaller, more irregular yellow marks above these. The posterior part of the carapace has a median yellow spot.[3]
Conservation
[edit | edit source]Scytodes silvatica is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in Mkambathi Nature Reserve, Asante Sana Private Game Reserve, and Tsitsikamma National Park.[3]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The species name is from Latin silvaticus "of the woods".
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]The species has not been revised and is known from both sexes, but has not been illustrated.[3]
References
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