Haplodrassus lophognathus
| Haplodrassus lophognathus | |
|---|---|
| |
| male | |
| |
| juvenile female | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Haplodrassus |
| Species: | H. lophognathus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Haplodrassus lophognathus (Purcell, 1907)
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Haplodrassus lophognathus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.[1] It is endemic to South Africa.[2]
Distribution
[edit]Haplodrassus lophognathus is widespread across seven provinces of South Africa: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.[2]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]The species is a free-living ground dweller that inhabits all the floral biomes except the Desert, Indian Ocean Coast Belt, and Forest biomes, at altitudes ranging from 14 to 2,985 m above sea level. It has also been collected from macadamia, pear, and pistachio orchards.[2]
Description
[edit]-
male -
male -
juvenile female
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2025) |
Conservation
[edit]Haplodrassus lophognathus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide distribution. The species is protected in numerous areas including Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, Table Mountain National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, uMkhuze Game Reserve, Benfontein Game Reserve, Cederberg Wilderness Area, Karoo National Park, and Witteberg Nature Reserve.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]The species was originally described by W. F. Purcell in 1907 as Drassodes lophognathus from Devils Peak, Table Mountain National Park. In 2025, Yuri M. Marusik and Charles R. Haddad transferred the species to the genus Haplodrassus.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Haplodrassus lophognathus (Purcell, 1907)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. part 1 (A-D). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 65–66. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197174. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Marusik, Y.M.; Haddad, C.R. (2025). "On the placement and affiliations of the Drassodes species described from sub-Saharan Africa (Aranei: Gnaphosidae)". Arthropoda Selecta. 34 (1): 77–85. doi:10.15298/arthsel.34.1.07.
