Belippo pulchra

Belippo are relatively small ant-like spiders.^[8] They often mimic ants of the genus Crematogaster.^[9] Their body is divided into two main parts: a forward section known as a cephalothorax and, behind that, another section called an abdomen.^[10][11] The male Belippo pulchra has a cephalothorax that is typically 1.7 mm (0.07 in) long and 0.6 mm (0.02 in) high. Its carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, is dark brown apart from the very front of its eye field, which is black. There is a shallow constriction at the back of the spider's pitted eye field and black rings around the front row of eyes. A scattering of white hairs can be seen on the thorax. The underside of its cephalothorax, or sternum, is light brown.^[12]

The male's abdomen is typically 1.8 mm (0.07 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide.^[12] The top is black and covered with a shiny hard patch, or scuta, that has a covering of thin colourless hairs. There are small patches formed of white scales approximately one-third down the surface. The underside of its abdomen is brown with two light streaks that narrow towards the back of the spider. It has short yellowish-grey spinnerets to spin webs. Its legs are short, slender and yellow with a few dark patches, particularly on the front pair. There are also spines on the front legs. The spider has large, elongated and reddish-brown chelicerae that have no teeth on their front front margin and six teeth to the rear. The remaining mouthparts are light brown.^[13] It is the shape of the chelicerae and the lack of teeth on its front row that most easily distinguishes the spider from others in the genus.^[4]

The spider's copulatory organs help distinguish it from others in the genus. The male has brown pedipalps.^[13] The spider's palpal bulb consists of a round tegulum with a relatively long embolus that starts at the side circles round the tegulum twice and then projects out towards the front of the spider set within a groove in the cymbium. Its palpal tibia is small and has a short appendages or apophyses, that is topped with other consists of tooth-like projections.^[12]

The female spider is similar in size to the male with a cephalothorax that is between 1.7 and 1.8 mm (0.07 in) long and similarly 0.6 high, and an abdomen that is between 1.8 and 2.4 mm (0.09 in) long and between 1 and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide.^[12] It is generally similar to the male in shape, although it is lighter and has a pattern on its abdomen that consists of a light band that crosses from side to side, two pale round patches in the middle and a triangle-shaped patch at the rear. Its legs are also different, being whitish-yellow with a black line marking their sides.^[13]

The female's copulatory organs are very similar to Belippo anguina and Belippo nexilis. Its epigyne, the external visible part of its copulatory organs, shows evidence of sclerotization and has two central depressions flanking a broad ridge. Internally, it has long seminal ducts that lead to spermathecae, or receptacles, that consist of two spherical chambers connected by a long narrow duct.^[13]

Belippo spiders live in the Afrotropical realm. Belippo pulchra is endemic to South Africa.^[2] It has been found in the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt and Savanna Biomes, living in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Provinces, in isolated parts of the country. It is likely to be under-sampled and to have a wider species distribution.^[5] The holotype was found in 2012 on the Magoebaskloof pass at an altitude of 1,188 m (3,898 ft) above sea level. Other examples have also been found nearby.^[4] It lives in the leaf litter in forests.^[5]

• Dippenaar-Schoeman, Annie; Foord, Stefan; Lotz, Leon; Haddad, Charles; Sethusa, Theresa; Lyle, Robin (2023). "Belippo pulchra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T176430535A189438746. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T176430535A189438746.en. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
• Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie S.; Van der Walt, Vida; Haddad, Charles R.; Foord, Stefan H.; Lotz, Leon N. (2025). "The Salticidae of South Africa". South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. 1. Part 2 (E-Ha): 1–65. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15266589.
• Haddad, Charles R.; Wesołowska, Wanda (2013). "Additions to the Jumping Spider Fauna of South Africa (Araneae: Salticidae)". Genus. 24 (3–4): 459–501.
• Maddison, Wayne P. (2015). "A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 43 (3): 231–292. doi:10.1636/arac-43-03-231-292. S2CID 85680279.
• Maddison, Wayne P.; Bodner, Melissa R.; Needham, Karen M. (2008). "Salticid spider phylogeny revisited, with the discovery of a large Australasian clade (Araneae: Salticidae)". Zootaxa. 1893: 49–64. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1893.1.3.
• Prószyński, Jerzy (2017). "Pragmatic classification of the World's Salticidae (Araneae)". Ecologica Montenegrina. 12: 1–133. doi:10.37828/em.2017.12.1.
• Wanless, Fred R. (1978). "A revision of the spider genera Belippo and Myrmarachne (Araneae: Salticidae) in the Ethiopian region". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology. 33: 1–139. doi:10.5962/p.28732. OCLC 1328029.