Phoroncidia eburnea

Transvaal Mushroom Comb-Foot Spider
	Female
	Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Theridiidae
Genus:	Phoroncidia
Species:	P. eburnea
Binomial name
	Phoroncidia eburnea; (Simon, 1895)
Synonyms
	Ulesanis eburnea Simon, 1895 ;

Phoroncidia eburnea is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae. It is endemic to South Africa and Eswatini, and is commonly known as the Transvaal mushroom comb-foot spider.

Distribution

Phoroncidia eburnea is only found in South Africa and Eswatini.

In South Africa, the species has been sampled from the provinces Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape. Notable locations include Kruger National Park, Blouberg Nature Reserve, and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.

Habitat and ecology

This rare spider is sampled when sweeping low vegetation.

Phoroncidia eburnea inhabits areas at altitudes from 1 to 1902 m above sea level. The species has been sampled from the Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes.

Description

Conservation

Phoroncidia eburnea is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although known only from females, the species has a wide geographical range and has been sampled from eight protected areas.

References

↑ Simon, E. (1895). "Etudes arachnologiques. 26e. XLI. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de l'ordre des Araneae". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 64: 131–160.
1 2 3 "Phoroncidia eburnea (Simon, 1895)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-P. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 56. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7515890. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

[simon1895g-1] Simon, E. (1895). "Etudes arachnologiques. 26e. XLI. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de l'ordre des Araneae". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 64: 131–160.

[wsc-2] 1 2 3 "Phoroncidia eburnea (Simon, 1895)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[dippenaar2021-3] 1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-P. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 56. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7515890. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.