Hippasa funerea

Hippasa funerea is a species of spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in southern Africa and is commonly known as Popela's funnel-web wolf spider.

Distribution

Hippasa funerea is found in Botswana, Lesotho, and South Africa. In South Africa, it is recorded from Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Western Cape.

Habitat and ecology

This species is a ground dweller that makes sheet-webs in low vegetation.
It has been sampled from the Grassland, Fynbos, Thicket, and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 36 to 2785 m.

Conservation

Hippasa funerea has a large geographic range and is protected in five protected areas. There are no significant threats to the species.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Lessert in 1925 from Popela in KwaZulu-Natal and later revised by Alderweireldt and Jocqué in 2005. It is known from both sexes.