Cyphalonotus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cyphalonotus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female C. larvatus | |
_(51068169796),_crop.jpg) | |
| female C. larvatus (type species) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Cyphalonotus Simon, 1895[1] |
| Type species | |
| C. larvatus (Simon, 1881) | |
| Species | |
|
7, see text | |
Cyphalonotus is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895.[2]
Cyphalonotus is widely distributed in the eastern parts of the Afrotropical Region, but little is known about its biology. Archer (1965) suggested that this genus belongs to the group that does not construct a formal web but Lawrence (1952) found specimen in webs on shrubs as well as specimens without webs among damp leaves. In Irene (Webb 2013) photographed Cyphalonotus larvatus after dark in a large orb-web.[3]
The spider hangs in the centre with the legs spread out. When disturbed, the legs, with the web are pulled together. The web is taken down during the day, when they rest on bark with the legs protruding into the air and arranged around the body (Dippenaar-Schoeman et al. 2013). Only one species has been recorded in South Africa but there might be more. Field data indicate that the genus have been collected in savanna grassland as well as from trees such as Vachellia tortilis. In the Nylsvley Nature Reserve the species was sampled from Grewia flavescens and Ochna pulchra trees.[3]
