Zelotes reduncus

Common Dark Ground Spider
	Female
	Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Gnaphosidae
Genus:	Zelotes
Species:	Z. reduncus
Binomial name
	Zelotes reduncus; (Purcell, 1907)
Synonyms
	Melanophora redunca Purcell, 1907 ; Zelotes anchora Tucker, 1923 ;

Zelotes reduncus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.^[2] It is commonly known as common dark ground spider and occurs in southern Africa.^[3]

Distribution

Zelotes reduncus occurs in Lesotho and South Africa. In South Africa, it has a wide distribution and is recorded from eight provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species has a wide altitudinal range, occurring from 4 to 2,892 m above sea level. They are free-running ground spiders found under stones during the day and inhabit the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama and Succulent Karoo, and Savanna biomes.^[3]

Description

female

Conservation

Zelotes reduncus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide range. The species is protected in more than ten protected areas. There are no significant threats to the species.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Purcell in 1907 from Kalkbay Mountains as Melanophora redunca. FitzPatrick (2007) revised the species and synonymized Zelotes anchora Tucker, 1923 with this species. It is known from both sexes.^[3]

References

↑ Purcell, W.F. (1907). "New South African spiders of the family Drassidae in the collection of the South African Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 20 (118): 297–336. doi:10.1080/00222930709487339.
↑ "Zelotes reduncus (Purcell, 1907)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 43. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197783. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

[purcell1907-1] Purcell, W.F. (1907). "New South African spiders of the family Drassidae in the collection of the South African Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 20 (118): 297–336. doi:10.1080/00222930709487339.

[wsc-2] "Zelotes reduncus (Purcell, 1907)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-25.

[dippenaar2021-3] 1 2 3 4 5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Gnaphosidae of South Africa. Part 4 (Z). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 43. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7197783. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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