Coenoptychus tropicalis

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Tropical Dwarf Mutilliform Sac Spider
Juvenile
Juvenile
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Corinnidae
Genus: Coenoptychus
Species:
C. tropicalis
Binomial name
Coenoptychus tropicalis
(Haddad, 2004)[1]
Synonyms
  • Graptartia tropicalis Haddad, 2004

Coenoptychus tropicalis is a species of spider in the family Corinnidae.[2] It is distributed across several African countries and is commonly known as Tropical dwarf mutilliform sac spider.[3]

Distribution

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Coenoptychus tropicalis is distributed across Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ivory Coast and South Africa. In South Africa, it is known from six provinces at altitudes ranging from 2 to 1,587 m above sea level, including ten protected areas.[3]

Habitat and ecology

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This species has been recorded from all biomes except Succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo. They inhabit grasslands and leaf litter and have been collected from Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Grassland, Fynbos, Savanna and Forest biomes.[3]

Like C. mutillicus, this species is a free-living ground-dweller that resembles the wingless females of smaller genera of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae).[3]

Description

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See also: Glossary of spider terms

Coenoptychus tropicalis is known from both sexes. It shares the general morphological characteristics of the genus Coenoptychus, including the gradually raised carapace, granular surface texture, and the distinctive geometrical markings created by creamy-white feathery setae on the opisthosoma.[3]

Conservation

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Coenoptychus tropicalis is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is recorded from several protected areas.[3]

Taxonomy

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Coenoptychus tropicalis was originally described as Graptartia tropicalis by species:Charles R. Haddad in 2004 from Tanzania. The species was transferred to Coenoptychus by Paul et al. in 2018.[4][3]

References

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  1. ^ Haddad, C.R. (2004). "A revision of the spider genus Graptartia Simon, 1896 (Araneae: Corinnidae) in the Afrotropical region". African Entomology. 12: 71–81.
  2. ^ "Coenoptychus tropicalis (Haddad, 2004)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Haddad, C.R.; Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2023). The Corinnidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 19. doi:10.5281/zenodo.8300753. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ^ Paul, J.; Sankaran, P.M.; Sebastian, P.A.; Joseph, M.M. (2018). "A review of the wasp mimicking spider genus Coenoptychus Simon, 1885 (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae)". Zootaxa. 4413 (1): 163–172. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4413.1.6.