Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Adjunct Professor at University of Venda

Salticids of Mozambique 3; Neaetha bulawayoensis 3; Trachelidae: new genera 4 Zodariidae guide part 2 4; Species inquirendae 5; Trichothyse review 5; Spiders of Ndumo GR 6; Stegodyphus dumicola 6; Spider fly to catch trout 7; Oxyopes sp. 3 8-9; New publications 10; Geraesta congoensis 11-13; Borboropactus silvicola 14-16 Smodicinus coroniger 17-19;...

The crab spider Geraesta congoensis (Lessert, 1943) is endemic to Africa and was described as Stephanopis congoensis from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was first recorded in South Africa in 2010, and it is known from the Eastern Cape, KwaZu-lu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga, South Africa. The general morphology of the species is described ba...

The rare, crowned crab spider Smodicinus coroniger Simon, 1895, is an African endemic species that was described from Sierra Leone, West Africa, based on an immature specimen. The general morphology of the species is discussed based on live specimens with notes on their behaviour, conservation status and distribution in South Africa.

The six-eyed sand spider Hexophthalma spatulatus (Pocock, 1900) is a South African endemic that was described in 1900 as Sicarius spatulatus from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. They are free-living ground dwellers and one of the most distinctive features is their ability to blend into their sandy environment. The tufts of sickle-shaped setae o...

A total of 112 spider species from 17 families were collected over three years from Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) from two localities in the Limpopo and the KwaZulu-Natal provinces. From the farm Amsterdam near Dendron, 14 families represented by 68 species were sampled, and from the farm Vergeval near Pongola, 17 families and 79 species. Thirty spe...

The litter crab spider Borboropactus silvicola (Lawrence, 1938) is endemic to South Africa and was described as Regil-lus silvicola from Port Sheptone, KwaZulu-Natal. It is now known from the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and several localities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The general morphology of the species is noted based on photographs of live speci...

Runcinia erythrina Jézéquel 1964 is a typical grassland species with a wide distribution. It is known from the Ivory Coast in the Afrotropical Region to South Africa in the south. It is presently known from eight provinces in South Africa. The female, with her characteristic decorated abdomen, is easily recognized. More information on its morpholog...

In this paper, keys are provided to identify the genera Avelis Simon, 1895, Holopelus Simon, 1886, Parabomis, 1901 and Thomisops Karsch, 1879 in the field and from photographs. With their small and round bodies they resemble seeds and may easily be overlooked in the field. The latest information on their distribution and conservation status in Sout...

Hirriusa arenacea is a Southern African spider described by Lawrence (1927) as Hirrius arenaceus from Namibia. They are small ground-running spiders frequently encountered in sandy areas on the soil surface. Information on their general morphology, behaviour, and distribution in South Africa, as well as photographs of live specimens, is provided.

Suemus punctatus Lawrence, 1938, is known from Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. They are free-living plant dwellers found on grasses and occasionally on shrubs. Their movements are erratic, and using their claw tufts and scopu-lae, they can move about swiftly on the vegetation. Information on their general morphology, behaviour, an...

Zodariids are wandering spiders, and important components of the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in South Africa. The family is known from 90 genera and 1298 species (World Spider Catalog, 2024) and 22 genera and 97 species are listed from South Africa. However, species of three more genera Mallinella, Mastidiores and Microdiores still need to be...

The stone huntsman spider Eusparassus schoemanae Moradmand, 2013 an endemic Southern Africa species is discussed. The general morphology of the species is discussed, and photographs of live specimens are provided. Notes on their behaviour, distribution in Southern Africa, and conservation status and threats are provided.

Records of the spider Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837 from South Africa are presented. The general morphology of live specimens is discussed, and photographs are provided, with notes on their behaviour and distribution.

The National Gardens constitute a large proportion of "green space," they have principal conservation value for invertebrates. An annotated list of spider species known from the Pretoria National Botanical Garden is provided. A total of 152 species from 36 families and 113 genera are presently protected in the garden. The two most species-rich fami...

The species Ideocaira transversa Simon, 1903, was described from South Africa 122 years ago. The description based only on the female was short, and no drawings were provided. Nothing is known about this unique species. Based on specimens sampled during the South African National Survey of Arachnida and photographs of live specimens, we can add to...

Pycnacantha tribulus (Fabricius, 1781) is the first species collected and described from South Africa. The type locality was only given as "Cap bona spei." Surveys have shown the species to have a wide distribution, and it is presently known from eight provinces. With its very characteristic spiky abdomen, this unique spider is also known as the he...

The comb-foot spider Theridion bicruciatum Roewer, 1961, is known only from the type locality in Senegal. This species was recorded for the first time from South Africa during the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA). Specimens were sampled from vegetation. The general morphology of live specimens is discussed, with notes on their beh...

Species distribution datasets are fundamental for macroecological studies, although there is an overarching need to ensure that these datasets are representative of the entire community. Shortfalls, or knowledge gaps, within biodiversity datasets originate for a range of reasons, and can lead to incorrect conclusions or recommendations being drawn....

The Newsletter deals with the SANSA activities for the months October-December, 2024. It also includes articles on the following species: Pycnacantha tribulus pp.19-22; Ideocaira transversa 23-24; Theridion bicruciatum 25-26; Phrynarachne rugosa 27-29 and checklists on the Pretoria Nat Botanical Garden 30-36; Karoo National Park 37-42 and an expedi...

The Soutpansberg Mountain (SM) range in the northern part of the Limpopo Province within the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, is a refuge for high diversity of organisms due to its geological history and location. As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), the spider diversity of the Soutpansberg Mountain was determined over 27 yea...

An annotated species list of spiders presently known from the Bontebok National Park (BNP) is provided. The checklist was compiled from data collected from the South African National Survey of Arahnida (SANSA) database. A total of 184 species from 44 families and 134 genera are presently protected in the park. The most species-rich families are the...

The family Cyrtaucheniidae is relimited to nine genera distributed across Africa, Asia, and South America. Only the genus Ancylotrypa Simon, 1889, is known from South Africa, represented by 29 species. An overview of the genus was provided by Dippenaar-Schoeman (2002) but has not yet been revised. Opatova et al. (2020) provided new insight into the...

Spiders are the dominant representative of the top predator guild in many terrestrial ecosystems, but their diversity and distribution in forests in South Africa are still understudied. This study aimed to determine ground‐dwelling spider diversity, composition and distribution patterns in both sand forest and savanna (and their ecotone) using pitf...

The spo ed orb-web spider Araneus holzapfelae Lessert, 1936 was described from Mozambique in 1936 and is only known from the type locality. This spider was recorded for the first me from South Africa during the South African Na onal Survey of Arachnida (SANSA). Morphological features of the species were compared with illustra ons and literature on...

The newsletter contains information on the months July-September, 2024. There are articles on the species Gephyrota glauca pp. 12–14; Hirriusa arenacea 15–18; Suemus punctatus 19–21; Chresiona invalida 22–24; Olios correvoni nigrifrons 25–27 and a checklist of the Golden Gate Highlands NP 28–35

The South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997, and now 27 years later we review the present state of our knowledge on the spiders. Conservation biogeography concerns species' distribution dynamics, and large datasets are available for spiders. We give feedback on the updated national and provincial checklist and the l...

ERESIDAE: Dresserus colsoni (velvet spiders) make retreat-web under rocks DICTYNIDAE: Dictyna sp. (mesh-web spiders) make webs on plants AMMOXENIDAE: Ammoxenus am-phalodes (sand divers) fast running sand divers THOMISIDAE: Xysticus natalensis (ground crab spiders) free-living on ground OXYOPIDAE: Oxyopes bothai (grass lynx spiders) free-living on p...

An annotated species list of spiders from the Garden Route National Park (GRNP) is provided. The checklist was compiled from data collected from the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) database. A total of 245 species from 52 families and 166 genera are presently protected in the park. The most species-rich families are the Thomisida...

Wonder world of spiders 7 Fiscal shrike 8 Three flower crab spiders 9-12 Uroctea quinquenotata 13-16 Steatoda capensis 17-19 Eusparassus schoemanae 20-22 Neoscona rufipalpis 23-27 Roodeplaatdam Nat. Res. 28-37

A checklist of the spiders from the Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve in the Gauteng Province, South Africa, is provided. The checklist was compiled South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) database. A total of 245 species from 40 families and 161 genera are presently protected in the reserve. The most species-rich families are the Salticidae...

A revision of the spider genus Runcinia (Araneae:Thomisidae)

The Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) is an iconic protected area in South Africa, renowned for the high levels of plant and animal species richness and endemism. An annotated species list of spiders presently known from the TMNP is provided. The checklist was compiled from data collected from the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA...

Spider species distribution in the Cape Floristic Kingdom (CFK) was compiled as part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), whose main aim was to create a relational database for the country's arachnid fauna. Data from the CFK was extracted from taxonomic and faunistic published papers, as well as unpublished faunistic survey da...

AFRAS Colloquium: Feed back 2024 1 AFRAS Colloquium: Memorial service 2 AFRAS Colloquium: Awards 3 AFRAS Colloquium: Awards and more 4 New pub. : Trachelidae new gen. 5 New pub. : Nephilinae 5 New pub. : 3 new Heliophanus genera 6 New pub. : Macrobunidae 7 New pub. : Cape Floristic Region 8 New pub. : Revision of Coryssiphus 9 Some observations on...

The Corinnidae is a moderately large cosmopolitan family known from 76 genera and 848 species (World Spider Catalog, 2023). The number of genera and species known from South Africa has increased considerably during recent years. Presently, 15 genera represented by 44 species are known from South Africa, of which 23 species (52%) are South African e...

Zodariids are wandering spiders and important components of the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in South Africa. The family is known from 90 gene-ra and 1298 species (World Spider Catalog 2024), and 97 species and 22 genera have been recorded from South Africa. Of these, 67 species (69%) are South African endemics, 22 (23%) are Southern African e...

The crab spider Phrynarachne rugosa (Walckenaer, 1805) was described as Thomisus rugosus from Réunion but has since been recorded from several African countries. Members of Phrynarachne have strongly modified carapaces and abdomens. Based on photographs of live specimens, the general morphology of the species and variation in colour and shape are d...

In a Karoo National Park spider checklist published in 1999, 116 species from 37 families were listed. This updated checklist lists 148 species from 42 families, adding 32 species and five families. Information on the endemicity and conservation status of all the species is provided. Most species (134) have a wide distribution range and are of Leas...

Eugène Simon, the well-known French arachnologist, was a prolific spider taxonomist and identified over 4600 species in his career. To obtain specimens for his research in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Simon, who was rich enough, financed his collecting expeditions. He traveled to South Africa on an expedition between February and March 1...

The general behaviour of three crab spider species Thomisus citrinellus Simon, 1875, T. daradioides Simon, 1890 and T. stenningi Pocock, 1900 are discussed. They are common flower dwellers found in gardens. With their strong front legs, prey are grabbed, and overpowered by their strong venom enabling them to kill prey that are frequently 2-4 times...

Neoscona rufipalpis (Lucas, 1858) was one of the Araneidae species sampled during the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA). It is a species with a wide global distribution throughout the Afrotropical Region. Observations on their behav-iour, colour variation and distribution are discussed

We present notes of the five-spot round-headed spiders Uroctea quinquenotata Simon, 1910 from South Africa. The general morphology of live specimens is discussed with notes on their behaviour, distribution, and conservation status

Gephyrota glauca (Jézéquel, 1966) is an African endemic species known from the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and South Africa. It is a plant-dwelling species frequently found on vegetation. This article provides information on its general morphology, behaviour, and distribution in South Africa, along with photographs of live specimens.

Olios correvoni Lessert, 1921 is an African endemic species described from Tanzania and the subspecies Olios correvoni nigrifrons was described by Lawrence, 1928 from Namibia. The subspecies is also known from South Africa and Botswana. It is a nocturnal spider that wanders at night searching for prey. During the day, they are found in silk retreat...

The crab spider Thomisus ghesquierei Lessert, 1943 was described from the Democratic Republic of the Congo from a female specimen. In South Africa, it was previously wrongly identified as Thomisus citrinellus and is now recognised for the first time in South Afri-ca. The differences between T. citrinellus and T. ghesquierei are discussed and photog...

We present the first records of the trash-line spider Cyclosa conica (Pallas, 1772) from South Africa. We discuss the general morphology of live specimens and include notes on their behaviour, distribution, and conservation status.

Thomisus scrupeus (Simon, 1886) has been recorded throughout Africa. This paper discusses the presence of T. scrupeus in South Africa, with notes on its colour variation and morphology based on live photographs. It also provides information on its behaviour, distribution, and conservation in South Africa.

The wolf spider Hippasosa guttata (Karsch, 1878) was described as Lycosa guttata from Mozambique. It is presently known throughout Central and Southern Africa and more information is provided here on their morphology, distribution in South Africa, and interesting burrow-dwelling behaviour with images of live specimens.

Previous studies of some species of Ammoxenus spiders demonstrated them to be monophagous predators of certain termites. Upon observing Ammoxenus spiders preying on the hodotermitid, Microhodotermes viator, we examined the distribution of spiders on or off termitaria (termed heuweltjies) at the Tierberg-LTER study site in the Karoo using pitfall tr...

The Prodidomidae occurs worldwide and is known from 23 genera and 192 species. From South Africa, six genera and 29 species. Seventeen of the 29 species are South African endemics, with seven species known only from the type locality. Eleven species are widely known from other Southern African countries and only one species Eleleis limpopo Rodrigue...

Two checklists have previously been published from the Mountain Zebra National Park. In 1988, only 32 species were recognised and in 2006, 43 species. In this final report, we list 150 species from 38 families, increasing the number of species recog-nised with 107 species. For the first time, we provide information on the endemicity and conservatio...

An annotated species list of spiders presently known from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is provided. The checklist was compiled from data collected from the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) database. A total of 170 species from 46 families and 128 genera are presently protected in the garden. The two most species-rich...

SANSA feedback 2023 1 Arachnids of Amathole Mountains 2 Ammoxenus and Microhodotermes viator 3 Platnickia mneon now P. adamsoni 3 Argiope australis used as arrow poison 4 Revision of Gymnobisiidae 4 Updated spider checklist 5 Dimizonops first record SA 5 Spiders and stone crush mining 6 Annual Diamant route conference 6 New genera and species 7 Rec...

A checklist of 2265 spider species and subspecies, 495 genera and 71 families is provided. Data were extracted from the South African National Survey of Arachnida database and over 200 taxonomic revisions, ending December 2022. Global distributions, endemicity and conservation assessment using IUCN Criteria are provided for each species. A total of...

BACKGROUND: The Eastern Cape province of South Africa has a rich floral diversity, with seven of the country's eight floral biomes represented in the province. The non-acarine arachnid fauna of the province is largely understudied and considerable gaps exist in our knowledge of the distribution, diversity and levels of endemism of the arachnid faun...

Little is known about the diversity of spiders in urban areas in South Africa. This survey of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) forms part of the Spider Monitoring in Cities (SMC) project of SANSA. The results of sampling undertaken in the Groenkloof Nature Reserve in the Gauteng province, South Africa, are provided. A total of...

Updated National Spider Species list 1 New books and guide now available 2 New publication: Seothyra webs 3 New publication: Nephilidae rank resurrected 3 New project: Spider survey in macadamia 4 New project: Spider survey Waterberg 5 New project: Spider survey – Umgeni River 6 New project: Spider survey in pine and forest 7 New project: BUGS 8 Ar...

This book provide information on the spiders of the Fernkloof Nature Reserve (FNR). The reserve is situated in the Fynbos Biome. Despite the relative small coverage of only 6.7% in South Africa, the Fynbos Biome is regarded as a priority hotspot for conservation. This is the first checklist compiled for FNR and presently lists 47 spider families re...

An annotated species list of spiders presently known from the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve in the North West province, South Africa, is provided. The checklist was compiled from data collected from the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) database. A total of 222 species from 40 families and 152 genera are presently protected in the rese...

Thoroughly revised and updated, this long-awaited new edition of Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa remains the most comprehensive guide to South African spiders published to date. It features over 780 of the more common spider species encountered in the veld and in homes and gardens, as well as representative species from some of the rarer...

The family Agelenidae occurs worldwide and is known from 82 genera and 1323 species (World Spider Catalog 2020). Five genera represented by 10 species, are listed on the National Species List but only four on the World Spider Catalog for South Africa. Most African genera of the family Agelenidae require revision except Mistaria which was revised by...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The family Anyphaenidae is represented by more than 56 genera and 565 species with a worldwide distribution, but only one species Amaurobioides africana Hewitt, 1917, is recorded from South Africa.

Provide information on species listed in genera E-N

The family Atypidae is known from five genera and 90 species (World Spider Catalog 2020). Only one genus, Calommata Lucas, 1837, represented by 13 species, are known from Africa and two of them from South Africa. They are very rare spiders and both of them are restricted endemics. Calommata meridionalis Fourie, Haddad & Jocqué, 2011 is listed as Ne...

The family Archaeidae is known from five genera and 90 species (World Spider Catalog 2020). Only one genus Afrarchaea C. L. Koch & Berendt, 1854, represented by 14 species, are known from South Africa. Through a series of five papers all the species of the genus were described. They are rare spiders and not easily sampled. Most of them are restrict...

This paper provides the first annotated species list of spiders presently known from Gondwana Private Game Reserve, a re-serve recognised as a Cape Floral World Heritage Site in the Western Cape. A total of 148 species from 106 genera and 33 families were recorded and photographed. The most species-rich families are the Araneidae (32 spp.), Thomisi...

Western Cape REPORT 2022 1 Congratulations G. Canning 2 New Scorpion book 2 New publications: Macadamia, etc 3 New publications: Stasimopus 4 Wild dogs feeding 5 14th Colloquium 5 Recent publications 6 Phaenopoma nigropunctatum 7-9 Thyene coccineovittata 10-12 Thomisus scrupeus 13-16 Gondwana Private Game Reserve 17–24 Benfontein Nature Reserve 25-...

National spider species checklist 1 New book 2 Smallest African salticid 2 New Wadicosa combinations 3 Ekapa new genus 3 Sampling in the Waterberg 4 Argiope australis in Free State 5 Presentations at the ISA congress 6 Recent publications 7 ISA News 7 Spider identification guides 8–10 Male Afracantha camerunensis 11–12 First record of Cyclosa conic...

The first checklist of the spider species of Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in Gauteng, South Africa, is presented. Spiders were collected over a period of 10 years, and 37 families, represented by 113 genera and 142 species, are listed. The most species-rich families are the Salticidae (24 spp.), followed by the Thomisidae (15 spp.), Gnaphosidae (14...

Oxytate argenteooculata 10-13 Romphaea affinis 14-16 Trichopagis manicata 17-19 Hippasosa guttata 20-22 Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve 23-31

As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), surveys were undertaken in the Eastern Cape. In this paper, an annotated species list of spider species sampled from the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is presented. A total of 48 families represented by 190 species from 133 genera have been recorded. The most species-rich families are...

The aim of this study was to compile the first checklist of the spider species in the Northern Cape province at the Benfontein Nature Reserve. Spiders were collected during different survey periods using different collecting methods to sample both the ground and field layers. In total, 36 families represented by 112 genera and 167 species have been...

As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), several surveys were undertaken in the Eastern Cape. In this paper, an annotated species list of spiders species sampled from Jeffreys Bay is presented. A total of 38 families represented by 151 species from 101 genera have been recorded. The most species-rich families are the Arane...

The Filistatidae is represented by 18 genera and 189species. Three genera are known to date from Africa namely Afrofilistata Benoit, 1968, Andoharano Lehtinen, 1967 and Pritha Lehtinen, 1967 but only one Andoharana sp. so far positively identified from South Africa. But several filistatid specimens have been sampled from South Africa but has yet to...

The Mozambican tailed comb-foot spider, Rhomphaea affinis Lessert, 1936, was described from Mozambique and was only known from the type locality. This spider was recorded for the first time from South Africa during the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA). The general morphology of live specimens is discussed, with notes on their beha...

Trichopagis manicata Simon, 1886 is an African species described from Madagascar. It is rare and known from only a few localities in Madagascar, Gabon, Guinea and South Africa. The aim of this paper is to add notes on their morphology based on images of living spiders, and to provide information on behaviour and distribution.

The male of the crab spider Diaea longisetosa Roewer, 1961 was described from Senegal in Africa. It is for the first time recorded from South Africa and the general morphology of the male is discussed with photographs of live specimens provided. Notes on their behaviour , distribution in South Africa, and conservation status are provided.

The African crab spider Diaea albicincta is known from Ethiopia and Tanzania. It is now for the first time recorded from South Africa. The general morphology is discussed with photographs of live specimens provided. Notes on their behaviour, distribution in South Africa and conservation status are provided.

The spotted jumping spider Thyene coccineovittata (Simon, 1886) has a wide distribution in Africa and is known from the Ivory Coast to South Africa. The species was also accidentally introduced in France and Brazil. The general morphology of both sexes of the species is discussed, with photographs of live specimens and notes on their behaviour, bio...

The crab spider Misumenops rubrodecoratus Millot, 1942 has a wide distribution throughout Africa. In South Africa the species was regularly sampled from agroecosystems and is recognised as one of five agrobionts that play an important role as natural control agents of pest species. The general morphology of both sexes of the species is discussed, w...

Only the female of the spiny-back orb-web spider Afracantha camerunensis (Thorell, 1899) was known. Some information on the first male collected and photographed in South Africa is provided.

The cosmopolitan black-tail sheet-web Spider Ostearius melanopygius was for the first time reported from South Africa in 1984. The species was possibly accidentally introduced to South Africa but is now well established in South Africa where it is found in all nine provinces. Photographs of live specimens are provided with notes on their distributi...

The gold band jumping spider Thyene natalii Peckham & Peckham, 1903 has a wide distribution in Africa and is known from Ethio-pia in the north to South Africa in the south. The general morphology of both sexes of the species is discussed, with photographs of live specimens with notes on their agrobiont behaviour, distribution, and conservation stat...

The black-palp wolf spider Pardosa crassipalpis Purcell, 1903 has a wide distribution in Southern Africa and is known from Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. The species is commonly found in agroecosystems and is recognised as one of five agrobiont species in South Africa. The general morphology of the species is discussed, with photographs of li...

The green lynx spider Peucetia viridis (Blackwall, 1858) has a wide distribution in Spain, Greece, Africa, and the Middle East and was introduced to the Caribbean Island. In South Africa, it has a wide distribution and is known from eight provinces. The general morphology of the species is discussed, with photographs of live specimens and notes on...

The genus Thomisus is characterised by marked sexual dimorphism. Six of the 15 species from Southern Africa are known from one sex only. A large series of specimens have been collected as part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), resulting in the discovery of the male of Thomisus kalaharinus Lawrence, 1936. The general morphol...

The two types of abdominal patterns found in Ammoxenus species are discussed, with emphasis on A. amphalodes Dippenaar & Meyer, 1980. With images of live specimens, the two patterns are shown. Within the genus, there is large interspecific similarity , but intraspecific variability regarding the abdominal colour pattern. Due to these variations fou...

Spiders are frequently encountered in houses and outbuildings in South Africa. With the warm subtropical climate houses, windows and security doors are frequently left open allowing spiders to enter freely. Data for this review was obtained from museum databases and primary specimen data collected with specimens and extracted from published revisio...

The genus Oxytate L. Koch, 1878 is represented by 30 species and six are known from the Afrotropical Region. One of the species , Oxytate argenteooculata (Simon, 1886), is found throughout the region. New Information on their morphology, behaviour, distribution and conservation status in South Africa is here provided.

We present the first records of the black-spot silver marsh spider Leucauge argyrescens Benoit, 1978 from South Africa. This African endemic species was previously known only from the Comoros and Seychelles. The general morphology is discussed and photographs are provided, with notes on their behaviour, distribution, and conservation status.

Acantharachne Tullgren, 1910 is a genus known from eight species, all of which are endemic to Africa. One of the species, A. seydeli Giltay, 1935, previously known from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was recorded for the first time from South Africa. The general morphology of live specimens is discussed, with notes on their distribution and...

Ancylotrypa Simon, 1889 is a genus known from 43 species endemic to Africa, with 29 species known from South Africa. They are large ground-dwelling trapdoor spiders that live in burrows that are closed with a wafer lid. Although it is a large genus, little is still known about their general behaviour. The general morphology, behaviour and distribut...

The crab spider Phrynarachne melloleitaoi Lessert, 1933 was described from Umbilo in KwaZulu-Natal but has been recorded throughout South Africa. The general morphology of the species is described based on photographs of live specimens. Notes on their behaviour , distribution in South Africa, and conservation are provided.

Neoscona moreli (Vinson, 1863) is an African endemic species introduced to Cuba and Argentina. Information on their behaviour, general morphology and distribution in South Africa with photographs on their webs and lifestyle are provided.

Chelicerae flashing, an interesting behaviour observed in the wolf spiders Hogna spenceri (Pocock, 1898) and H. transvaalica (Simon, 1898), is discussed. Both species are African endemics. The general morphology of the species is discussed and photographs of live specimens are provided showing how the chelicerae colour changes. Notes on their lifes...