Ibala bulawayensis

Ibala bulawayensis is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It is a southern African endemic species commonly known as the Zimbabwean spotted Ibala flat-bellied ground spider.

Distribution

Ibala bulawayensis is distributed across Zimbabwe and South Africa. In South Africa, it is recorded from the two provinces Limpopo and Northern Cape.

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-living ground dweller sampled from the Savanna biome, at altitudes ranging from 1,190 to 1,341 m above sea level.

Conservation

Ibala bulawayensis is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographic range in southern Africa. It is protected in Benfontein Game Reserve and Lhuvhondo Nature Reserve.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Tucker in 1923 from Zimbabwe as Setaphis bulawayensis. It was revised by Fitzpatrick.