Africactenus tridentatus

Africactenus tridentatus is a species of spider in the family Ctenidae. It is endemic to southern Africa and is commonly known as the Africa Ctenus tropical wolf spider.

Distribution

Africactenus tridentatus is found in Zimbabwe and South Africa. In South Africa, the species has been recorded from two provinces: the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-running ground dweller known from the Savanna and Fynbos biomes, at altitudes ranging from 16 to 874 m above sea level.

Description

Africactenus tridentatus is known only from males. It belongs to the genus Africactenus, which is characterized by a deep dorsal indentation on the carapace, well-developed hair tufts on the dorsum of the opisthosoma, and the absence of terminal pairs of spines on tibiae I and II.

Conservation

Africactenus tridentatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. The species receives protection in Addo Elephant National Park.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by K.H. Hyatt in 1954 from Mashonaland, Zimbabwe. It was later revised by Benoit in 1974.