Stegodyphus is a genus of velvet spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1873. They are distributed from Africa to Europe and Asia, with one species (S. manaus) found in Brazil. The name is derived from Ancient Greek (stegos), meaning "covered".
Behavior
At least three species are social spiders, and several are known to use ballooning as a method of dispersal.
Species
it contains about twenty species: Stegodyphus africanus (Blackwall, 1866) – Africa Stegodyphus bicolor (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869) – Southern Africa Stegodyphus dufouri (Audouin, 1826) – North, West Africa Stegodyphus dumicola Pocock, 1898 – Central, Southern Africa Stegodyphus hildebrandti (Karsch, 1878) – Central, East Africa, Zanzibar Stegodyphus lineatus (Latreille, 1817) (type) – Southern Europe, North Africa to Tajikistan Stegodyphus lineifrons Pocock, 1898 – East Africa Stegodyphus manaus Kraus & Kraus, 1992 – Brazil Stegodyphus manicatus Simon, 1876 – North, West Africa Stegodyphus mimosarum Pavesi, 1883 – Africa, Madagascar Stegodyphus mirandus Pocock, 1899 – India Stegodyphus nathistmus Kraus & Kraus, 1989 – Morocco to Yemen Stegodyphus pacificus Pocock, 1900 – Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, India Stegodyphus sabulosus Tullgren, 1910 – East, Southern Africa Stegodyphus sarasinorum Karsch, 1892 – India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar Stegodyphus simplicifrons Simon, 1906 – Madagascar Stegodyphus tentoriicola Purcell, 1904 – South Africa Stegodyphus tibialis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869) – India, Myanmar, Thailand, China Stegodyphus tingelin Kraus & Kraus, 1989 – Cameroon
References