Runcinia tropica

Tropical Runcinia Grass Crab Spider
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Thomisidae
Genus: Runcinia
Species:
R. tropica
Binomial name
Runcinia tropica
Simon, 1907
Synonyms

Runcinia affinis tropica Simon, 1907

Runcinia tropica is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae. It is commonly known as the tropical Runcinia grass crab spider and is widespread throughout Africa.

Distribution

Runcinia tropica has a wide distribution throughout Africa.

In South Africa, it has been recorded from Gauteng (Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve), KwaZulu-Natal (Empangeni), and Mpumalanga (Belfast).

Habitat and ecology

Runcinia tropica are free-living on plants.

In South Africa, they have been sampled in Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and Savanna biomes, at altitudes ranging from 78 to 1,871 m.

Description

Taxonomy

Runcinia tropica was described by Eugène Simon in 1907 from Annobón as a subspecies Runcinia affinis tropica. Dippenaar-Schoeman elevated it to species status in 1980. The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1980 and 1983 and is known from both sexes.

References

  1. 1 2 Simon, E. (1907). "Arachnides recueillis par L. Fea sur la côte occidentale d'Afrique. 1re partie". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 43: 218–323.
  2. ↑ "Runcinia tropica Simon, 1907". 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. (2020). The Thomisidae of South Africa. Part 2 My-R. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 61. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513276. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. 1 2 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1980). "The crab-spiders of southern Africa (Araneae: Thomisidae). 1. The genus Runcinia Simon, 1875". Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa. 43: 303–326.
  5. ↑ Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (1983). "The spider genera Misumena, Misumenops, Runcinia and Thomisus (Araneae: Thomisidae) of southern Africa". Entomology Memoir, Department of Agriculture Republic of South Africa. 55: 1–66.