Ammoxenus coccineus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Desert termite feeding spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Ammoxenus |
| Species: | A. coccineus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ammoxenus coccineus Simon, 1893 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ammoxenus coccineus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae and the type species of the genus Ammoxenus. It is found in southern Africa and is commonly known as the desert termite feeding spider.[1][2]
Distribution
A. coccineus has the widest distribution of any Ammoxenus species, occurring in four southern African countries: Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. In South Africa, it is recorded from four provinces with an extent of occurrence of 504,419 km2 and is found at elevations from 376 to 1,400 meters above sea level.[2]
Habitat and ecology
This free-running ground spider lives in sand mounds left by termites and is a specialist predator of harvester termites. When disturbed, individuals dive head-first into sand. The species is found in areas where harvester termites are active and occurs in Forest, Grassland, Nama Karoo, and Savanna biomes. It has been recorded from agricultural areas including cabbage fields and pistachio orchards.[2]
