Phoroncidia eburnea

Transvaal Mushroom Comb-Foot Spider
	Female
	Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Theridiidae
Genus:	Phoroncidia
Species:	P. eburnea
Binomial name
	Phoroncidia eburnea; (Simon, 1895)
Synonyms
	Ulesanis eburnea Simon, 1895 ;

Phoroncidia eburnea is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae.^[2] It is endemic to South Africa and Eswatini, and is commonly known as the Transvaal mushroom comb-foot spider.^[3]

Distribution

Phoroncidia eburnea is only found in South Africa and Eswatini.^[2]

In South Africa, the species has been sampled from the provinces Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape. Notable locations include Kruger National Park, Blouberg Nature Reserve, and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

This rare spider is sampled when sweeping low vegetation.^[3]

Phoroncidia eburnea inhabits areas at altitudes from 1 to 1902 m above sea level. The species has been sampled from the Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes.^[3]

Description

Conservation

Phoroncidia eburnea is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although known only from females, the species has a wide geographical range and has been sampled from eight protected areas.^[3]

References

^ Simon, E. (1895). "Etudes arachnologiques. 26e. XLI. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de l'ordre des Araneae". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 64: 131–160.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Phoroncidia eburnea (Simon, 1895)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-P. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 56. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7515890. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

[simon1895g-1] Simon, E. (1895). "Etudes arachnologiques. 26e. XLI. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de l'ordre des Araneae". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 64: 131–160.

[wsc-2] "Phoroncidia eburnea (Simon, 1895)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[dippenaar2021-3] Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-P. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 56. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7515890. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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