Anyphops gilli
Anyphops gilli is a species of spider in the family Selenopidae.[2] It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Uitenhage Anyphops flat spider.[3] DistributionAnyphops gilli occurs in three South African provinces: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape.[3] Notable localities include Uitenhage, Hogsback in the Amatola Mountains, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and Ngome State Forest.[3] Habitat and ecologyThe species inhabits Forest, Savanna, and Thicket biomes at altitudes ranging from 45 to 1307 m above sea level.[3] These are free-living cryptozoic nocturnal spiders that have been sampled with pitfall traps and from leaf litter in dry-humid wet forest.[3] DescriptionKnown only from the male. The carapace is light reddish brown and a little darker anteriorly, with thoracic striae brown and some fine long radiating lines from it. The cephalic region is bisected by a light brown line which is duplicated for most of its length, and the chelicerae are a little darker than the carapace.[3] The opisthosoma has some brown spots and wavy cross-bars over most of its surface, with a transverse, procurved, fairly broad black stripe near its posterior extremity. The anterior tibiae have 6 pairs of inferior spines.[3] Total length is 8.6 mm.[3] ConservationAnyphops gilli is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range.[3] The species is protected in three State Forests, though more sampling is needed to collect the female.[3] TaxonomyThe species was originally described by Lawrence in 1940 as Selenops gilli from Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape.[1] It was later transferred to the genus Anyphops by Benoit in 1968.[3] References
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