Murphydrela

Murphydrela
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Zodariidae
Genus:	Murphydrela; Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022
Type species
	M. johannis; Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022
Species
	5, see text

Murphydrela is a genus of spiders in the family Zodariidae.

Distribution

Murphydrela occurs in East and Central Africa.

Etymology

The genus, as well the species M. francescae and M. johannis, are named in honor of arachnologists John and Frances Murphy. M. michaelis honors arachnologist Michael Roberts (1945–2020).

Species

As of January 2026^[update], this genus includes five species:

Murphydrela francescae Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022 – DR Congo
Murphydrela johannis Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022 – DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi
Murphydrela kreagra (Nzigidahera & Jocqué, 2010) – Burundi
Murphydrela michaelis Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022 – Kenya
Murphydrela neptuna (Nzigidahera & Jocqué, 2010) – Burundi

References

1 2 Jocqué, R.; Russell-Smith, A. (2022). "Murphydrela gen. n., a new genus of ant spider from central and east Africa (Araneae: Zodariidae)". Arachnology. 19: 238–246. doi:10.13156/arac.2022.19.sp1.238.
1 2 3 "Gen. Murphydrela Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2026-01-20.

This Zodariidae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[jocque2022-1] 1 2 Jocqué, R.; Russell-Smith, A. (2022). "Murphydrela gen. n., a new genus of ant spider from central and east Africa (Araneae: Zodariidae)". Arachnology. 19: 238–246. doi:10.13156/arac.2022.19.sp1.238.

[wsc-2] 1 2 3 "Gen. Murphydrela Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2022". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2026-01-20.