Urozelotes rusticus
Species of spider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Urozelotes rusticus is a cosmopolitan spider species in the family Gnaphosidae.[2] It is the type species of the genus Urozelotes.
| Urozelotes Ground Spider | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Urozelotes |
| Species: | U. rusticus |
| Binomial name | |
| Urozelotes rusticus (L. Koch, 1872)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Urozelotes synonyms
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Distribution
Urozelotes rusticus is probably native to Europe and the Mediterranean region extending to temperate Asia, but has been introduced to both Americas, tropical Africa, Australia, and South Africa.[2]
In South Africa, it occurs across seven provinces: Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, at altitudes ranging from 109 to 1,688 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
Urozelotes rusticus is a free-living ground dweller. In South Africa, it is found in Fynbos, Grassland, and Savanna biomes. Due to its synanthropic habits, U. rusticus is most frequently found in buildings but also occurs in gardens, pastures, citrus orchards, oak forests, and caves. Its widespread occurrence in human-modified environments has contributed to its global distribution.[3]
Description
Conservation
Urozelotes rusticus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide global range. The species is protected in four nature reserves in South Africa.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by L. Koch in 1872 as Prosthesima rustica. It was later transferred to Urozelotes by Platnick & Murphy in 1984, who also synonymized numerous other species with it. The species has probably accumulated the longest list of synonyms of any gnaphosid species due to its widespread distribution and synanthropic habits. It is known from both sexes and has been revised by Platnick and Murphy.[3]
