Moggridgea microps
Species of spider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moggridgea microps is a species of spider in the family Migidae.[2] It occurs in South Africa and Eswatini and is commonly known as the Malelane Moggridgea trapdoor spider.[3]
| Malelane Moggridgea Trapdoor Spider | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Migidae |
| Genus: | Moggridgea |
| Species: | M. microps |
| Binomial name | |
| Moggridgea microps Hewitt, 1915[1] | |
Etymology
The specific name is Latin for "small-eyed".
Distribution
Moggridgea microps has a wide distribution across three South African provinces. It occurs in the Eastern Cape (East London, Port St. Johns), KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, Eshowe, Port Shepstone, iSimangaliso Wetland Park), and Mpumalanga (Barberton, Malelane, Mariepskop). The species is also found in Eswatini.[3]
Habitat
Lifestyle
It is an arboreal trapdoor spider with adult females collected in February, March, May, June, and November.[3]
Description
Moggridgea microps is known only from the female.[3]
Conservation
Moggridgea microps is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although presently known only from females, it has a wide geographical range extending into Eswatini. It is protected in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, but additional sampling is needed to collect male specimens.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by John Hewitt in 1915 from Malelane in Mpumalanga and later revised by species:Charles E. Griswold in 1987.[4]
