Ibala arcus
| Ibala arcus | |
|---|---|
| |
| female | |
| |
| female | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Ibala |
| Species: | I. arcus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ibala arcus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ibala arcus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.[2] It is a southern African endemic species.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Ibala arcus is distributed across Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa.[3] In South Africa, it is recorded from all provinces at altitudes ranging from 47 to 1,645 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
[edit]The species is a free-living ground dweller, sampled from the Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Succulent Karoo biomes.[3] It has also been sampled from maize fields.[3]
The species mimics velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with whom they are often caught in pitfall traps.[3]
Description
[edit]
Ibala arcus is known from both sexes. It is a small spider with average total length of 4-6 mm. The carapace and legs are reddish brown, while the abdomen is black with four white spots dorsally joined to form two longitudinal white strips.[3]
Conservation
[edit]Ibala arcus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide distribution range.[3] The species is found in more than 10 protected areas.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]The species was originally described by Tucker in 1923 from Warmbaths in Limpopo as Setaphis arcus.[1] It was revised by Fitzpatrick (2009).[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Tucker, R.W.E. (1923). "The Drassidae of South Africa". Annals of the South African Museum. 19 (2): 321.
- ^ "Ibala arcus (Tucker, 1923)". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 2 (E-S). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 15. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197672.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
