Meotipa pulcherrima
Species of spider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meotipa pulcherrima is a species of cobweb spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Tropical Africa, and has been introduced into the Americas, Papua New Guinea, China, Korea, Japan, and the Pacific Islands.[2]
| Meotipa pulcherrima | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female | |
 | |
| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Meotipa |
| Species: | M. pulcherrima |
| Binomial name | |
| Meotipa pulcherrima (Mello-Leitão, 1917)[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Distribution
Meotipa pulcherrima is found in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia (New Guinea), and the Pacific Islands. It has been introduced to the Americas and tropical Africa.[2]
In South Africa, the species has been recorded from the provinces Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Notable locations include Addo Elephant National Park and Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Description
female with egg sac
Conservation
Meotipa pulcherrima is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in Addo Elephant National Park and Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was transferred to Meotipa from Chrysso by Yoshida in 2009.[4]
