Thomisus kalaharinus
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| Thomisus kalaharinus | |
|---|---|
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| Female with male | |
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| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Thomisus |
| Species: | T. kalaharinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Thomisus kalaharinus Lawrence, 1936 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Thomisus kalaharinus is a species of crab spider of the genus Thomisus. It is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and Yemen.[1]
The specific epithet kalaharinus refers to the Kalahari Desert region where the type specimen was collected during the Vernay-Lang Kalahari Expedition in 1930.[2]
Taxonomy
Thomisus kalaharinus was first described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1936 based on a female specimen from Botswana.[2] In 1942, Lawrence described Thomisus urbensis, which was later synonymized with T. kalaharinus by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1983.[3] The male of the species was not described until 2023, when Dippenaar-Schoeman provided the first description based on specimens from South Africa.[4]
Distribution
Thomisus kalaharinus has a wide distribution throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, extending from southern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.[1] In South Africa, it has been recorded from all provinces. The species occurs at elevations ranging from 7 to 1,705 meters above sea level.[5]
Habitat
Thomisus kalaharinus is a free-living species found on various plants, primarily on grass and flowers. It has been recorded from all South African floral biomes except the Desert Biome. The species has also been collected from agricultural settings, including cotton fields and pistachio orchards. Adults can be found throughout the year.[5]
