Ariadna segestrioides

Dunbrody Tube-Web Spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Segestriidae
Genus:	Ariadna
Species:	A. segestrioides
Binomial name
	Ariadna segestrioides; Purcell, 1904

Short description: Species of spider

Ariadna segestrioides is a species of spider in the family Segestriidae.^[2] It is endemic to the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is commonly known as the Dunbrody tube-web spider.^[3]

Distribution

Ariadna segestrioides is known only from the type locality Dunbrody in the Eastern Cape, at an altitude of 66 m above sea level.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits the Thicket biome and constructs tube signal-webs made in crevices of walls, rocks, fallen tree trunks, or bark of trees.^[3]

Description

Females have a blackish-brown carapace, slightly paler in the middle. Chelicerae are reddish-black. Legs are blackish-brown to nearly black, with the two posterior pairs paler distally. Their tarsi and, to a lesser extent, their metatarsi are pale yellowish, while the two anterior pairs of tarsi are reddish.^[3]

The abdomen is pallid with a median series of purplish spots above. The underside is faintly suffused with purplish and has a dark purplish patch posteriorly before the spinners. The sternum and labium are blackish-brown. Total length is 10.75 mm.^[3]

Conservation

Ariadna segestrioides is listed as data deficient for taxonomic reasons. More sampling is needed to collect males and determine the species' range.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by W. F. Purcell in 1904 from Dunbrody. Only females are known.^[3]

References

↑ Purcell, W.F. (1904). "Descriptions of new genera and species of South African spiders". Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 15: 115-173.
↑ "Ariadna segestrioides Purcell, 1904". World Spider Catalog. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/33906. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 ^3.4 ^3.5 ^3.6 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2021). The Segestriidae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 1-22. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7162194. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.