Themacrys cavernicola

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Zululand Cave Hackled Band Spider
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Phyxelididae
Genus: Themacrys
Species:
T. cavernicola
Binomial name
Themacrys cavernicola
(Lawrence, 1939)[1]
Synonyms
  • Haemilla cavernicola Lawrence, 1939

Themacrys cavernicola is a species of spider in the family Phyxelididae.[2] It occurs in South Africa and Lesotho and is commonly known as the Zululand cave hackled band spider.[3]

Distribution

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Themacrys cavernicola is distributed across two South African provinces: KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, and also occurs in Lesotho.[3] The species occurs at altitudes ranging from 647 to 1,795 m above sea level.

Habitat and ecology

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This species inhabits the Grassland and Savanna biomes.[3] Themacrys cavernicola is a ground retreat-web cryptic spider that lives in dark places. The species is sometimes found in caves.[3]

Description

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See also: Glossary of spider terms

Conservation

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Themacrys cavernicola is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.[3] The species has a wide geographic range and there are no significant threats identified.[3]

Etymology

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The specific name means "cave-dwelling" in Latin.

Taxonomy

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The species was originally described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1939 as Haemilla cavernicola from the Noodsberg Caves in KwaZulu-Natal.[1] It was later transferred to the genus Themacrys by Pekka Lehtinen in 1967 and revised by Griswold in 1990.[3] Themacrys cavernicola is known from both sexes.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lawrence, R.F. (1939). "The genus Haemilla (Araneae) in South Africa". Annals of the Natal Museum. 9: 269–281.
  2. ^ "Themacrys cavernicola (Lawrence, 1939)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Phyxelididae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 24. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6813843. Retrieved 24 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.