Diphya vanderwaltae

Diphya vanderwaltae is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae. It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Vanderwalt's Diphya web spider.

Distribution

Diphya vanderwaltae is known only from Cwebe Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape.

Habitat and ecology

The species was collected while sifting leaf litter from coastal dune forest. The species range is very small.

Description

The species is only known from females.The female of Diphya vanderwaltae is small and predominantly dark: a dark-brown carapace with an indistinct median band, a uniformly black sternum, dark-grey femora with fine yellowish longitudinal lines, and a largely patternless dark-grey abdomen with a few guanine spots; the epigyne bears a triangular septum with closely spaced copulatory openings.

Conservation

Diphya vanderwaltae is listed as Data Deficient by the South [African National Biodiversity Institute] for taxonomic reasons. A rare species, more sampling is needed around Cwebe to determine the range and to collect males.