Palystella pallida

Port Nolloth palystella huntsman spider
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Palystella
Species:
P. pallida
Binomial name
Palystella pallida
Lawrence, 1938
Synonyms
  • Palystella pallidus Lawrence, 1938

Palystella pallida is a spider species in the family Sparassidae. It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Port Nolloth palystella huntsman spider.

Distribution

Palystella pallida is found in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. Notable locations include the Cederberg Wilderness Area and Swartberg Nature Reserve.

Habitat and ecology

Palystella pallida is a free-running ground dweller sampled from the Fynbos Biome using pitfall traps. The species occurs at altitudes ranging from 14 to 1,210 m.

Description

Conservation

Palystella pallida is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its large range. Much natural habitat remains within this species' range, and it is protected in the Swartberg Nature Reserve. The species is suspected to be under-sampled.

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, R.F. (1938). "Transvaal Museum Expedition to South-West Africa and Little Namaqualand, May to August 1937. Spiders". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 19: 215–226.
  2. 1 2 "Palystella pallida Lawrence, 1938". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2022). The Sparassidae of South Africa. Version 2. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 35. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6614498. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.