Menneus dromedarius

Menneus dromedarius, also known as the dromedarus net-casting spider, is a species of net-casting spider in the family Deinopidae. It is endemic to the afrotropical regions of South Africa and Madagascar.

Distribution

M. dromedarius is found in four provinces in South Africa, in fynbos, List of [vegetation types of South Africa#Forest|forest], grassland and Albany thicket biomes. Specimens were found in Bathurst in the Eastern Cape, oNgoye Forest in KZN, Barberton in Mpumalanga, the Diepwalle Forest in the Garden Route National Park, and in Kleinmond in the Western Cape.
In Madagascar, it was found in Berenty Reserve.

Habitat and ecology

The species constructs small, rectangular expandable webs made with cribellate silk and holds them with their front legs. The spiders are cryptic by day, resting with their bodies pressed against vegetation. It has been sampled from the Fynbos, Forest, Grassland, and Thicket biomes.

Description

Menneus dromedarius is known from both sexes.
Compared to a related genus Asianopis, an ogre-faced net-caster, Menneus have less prominent forward facing eyes and subtle greenish brown to grey patterning. The males are smaller and even more slender and stick-like than the females, and can differ from them in their colour and patterning.

Conservation

Menneus dromedarius is listed as Least Concern by the South [African National Biodiversity Institute] due to its wide geographical range spanning South Africa and Madagascar. The species is protected in two forest stations.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Purcell in 1904 from Pirie Bush, King Williamstown. The genus Menneus was revised by Coddington et al. in 2012, who removed this species from synonymy with M. camelus.