Proevippa dregei

Eastern Cape Proevippa wolf spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Lycosidae
Genus:	Proevippa
Species:	P. dregei
Binomial name
	Proevippa dregei; (Purcell, 1903)
Synonyms
	Lycosa dregei Purcell, 1903 ; Arctosa dregei Roewer, 1955 ;

Proevippa dregei is a species of spider in the family Lycosidae.^[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Eastern Cape Proevippa wolf spider.^[3]

Distribution

Proevippa dregei is found in South Africa.^[2] It is endemic to the Eastern Cape province, where it is recorded from several localities at altitudes ranging from 30 to 1,381 m. Localities include Van Stadens River, Dunbrody, East London, Graaff-Reinet, Mountain Zebra National Park, Uitenhage, Willowmore, and Jeffrey's Bay.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

Proevippa dregei is a free-running ground dwelling spider sampled from the Thicket biome.^[3]

Description

The abdomen is dark brown with a paler median V-shaped mark. It is clothed in long, sub-erect dark hairs. The underside and spinnerets are pale yellow. The total length is 10.5 mm.^[3]

Conservation

Proevippa dregei is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range within the Eastern Cape. The species is threatened by loss of habitat for crop farming but is protected in Mountain Zebra National Park.^[3]

Taxonomy

Proevippa dregei was originally described by Purcell in 1903 as Lycosa dregei from Van Stadens River. The species was transferred to Arctosa by Roewer in 1955 and subsequently to Chaleposa by Russell-Smith in 1981, before being moved to Proevippa. It is known from both sexes.^[3]

References

^ Purcell, W.F. (1903). "New South African spiders of the families Migidae, Ctenizidae, Barychelidae Dipluridae, and Lycosidae". Annals of the South African Museum. 3: 69–142.
^ ^a ^b "Proevippa dregei (Purcell, 1903)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 2 (L-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 38. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6324723. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

[purcell1903-1] Purcell, W.F. (1903). "New South African spiders of the families Migidae, Ctenizidae, Barychelidae Dipluridae, and Lycosidae". Annals of the South African Museum. 3: 69–142.

[wsc-2] "Proevippa dregei (Purcell, 1903)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[dippenaar2021-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 2 (L-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 38. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6324723. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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