Allothele australis
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| Allothele australis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Euagridae |
| Genus: | Allothele |
| Species: | A. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Allothele australis (Purcell, 1903) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Allothele australis is a species of mygalomorph spider in the family Euagridae.[1] It is endemic to South Africa, where it is commonly known as the Eastern Cape's sheet-web spider.[2]
The species was originally described by W. F. Purcell in 1903 as Thelechoris australis from specimens collected at Dunbrody in the Eastern Cape.[3] It was later transferred to the genus Euagrus by Hewitt in 1919, who treated it as a variety of Euagrus caffer.[4] The species was subsequently moved to its current genus Allothele and restored to full species status by Coyle in 1984, who removed it from synonymy with A. caffer.[5]
Distribution
Allothele australis is found in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.[2] The species has an extent of occurrence of 56,580 km2 and an area of occupancy of 48 km2, occurring at elevations ranging from 37 to 1,652 metres above sea level.[2]
In the Eastern Cape, it has been recorded from locations including Addo Elephant National Park, Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, Cookhouse, Grahamstown, Dunbrody along the Sundays River, Peddie, and several nature reserves including Mpofu and Tsolwana.[2] In the Western Cape, it is known from Swartberg Nature Reserve and Somerset West.[2]