Simorcus cotti
Species of spider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simorcus cotti is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae.[2] It is commonly known as Cotti's Simorcus crab spider and occurs in several African countries.[3]
| Cotti's Simorcus Crab Spider | |
|---|---|
| |
| female | |
 | |
| female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Simorcus |
| Species: | S. cotti |
| Binomial name | |
| Simorcus cotti | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Distribution
Simorcus cotti is known from Tanzania, Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, the species has been documented from Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Simorcus cotti was collected by beating and sweeping grass, trees, shrubs, and herbs in Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes, at altitudes ranging from 4 to 1,758 m.[3]
The species has been collected from various tree species, including:[3]
- several Acacia species
- Aloe marlothii
- Burkea africana
- Croton sylvaticus
- Helichrysum species
- Panicum species
- fever trees
- Pappea capensis
- Philenoptera violacea
- Pterocarpus rotundifolius
- Sclerocarya birrea
- Spigumnosporia species
- Spirostachus africana
- Terminalia sericea woodland.[4]
Adult males were sampled from November to March and females from December to March.[4] The species has also been sampled from citrus orchards.[4]
Description
female
female
female
female
Conservation
Simorcus cotti is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is recorded in more than ten protected areas throughout South Africa.[3]
Etymology
The species is named after B.-B. Cott, who collected specimens during the expedition to Portuguese East Africa.[1]
Taxonomy
Simorcus cotti was described by Roger de Lessert in 1936 from Mozambique.[1] Van Niekerk and Dippenaar-Schoeman synonymized Simorcus zuluanus with this species in 2010. The species was revised by Van Niekerk and Dippenaar-Schoeman in 2010 and is known from both sexes.[4]
