Anyphops caledonicus

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Caledon Anyphops Flat Spider
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Selenopidae
Genus: Anyphops
Species:
A. caledonicus
Binomial name
Anyphops caledonicus
(Lawrence, 1940)[1]

Anyphops caledonicus is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Caledon anyphops flat spider.[3]

Distribution

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Anyphops caledonicus is found in South Africa.[2] The species is endemic to the Western Cape, known from Caledon and Bontebok National Park at 237 m above sea level.[3]

Habitat and ecology

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The species inhabits the Fynbos biome.[3] Little is known about their behaviour.[3]

Description

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See also: Glossary of spider terms

The species is known only from females.[3] The carapace is light yellow-brown with a Y-shaped darker marking formed by the thoracic striae and posterior boundaries of the cephalic area, with a few small dark spots halfway between the striae and lateral margins.[3]

The opisthosoma above has 3 pairs of short curved blackish bars. There are well-defined brown bands on femora and tibiae of all legs. Tibia I and II have 5, metatarsus I and II have 3 pairs of inferior spines. Total length is 7-8 mm.[3]

Conservation

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Anyphops caledonicus is listed as Data Deficient for taxonomic reasons.[3] The status of the species remains obscure. More sampling is needed to collect males and determine the species' range. It is protected in Bontebok National Park.[3]

Taxonomy

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The species was originally described by R. F. Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops caledonicus from Caledon.[1] It was transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lawrence, R.F. (1940). "The genus Selenops (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 32: 574.
  2. ^ a b "Anyphops caledonicus (Lawrence, 1940)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. 16. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162139. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.