Paradonea striatipes

Paradonea striatipes is a species of spider in the family Eresidae. It occurs in southern Africa and is commonly known as the black and white velvet spider.

Etymology

The species epithet "striatipes" combines Latin "striatus" and "pes".

Distribution

Paradonea striatipes is found in Namibia and South Africa. In South Africa, it occurs in the Northern Cape province.

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 1,238 to 1,326 m above sea level.
The species is a ground-dweller that builds silken tube-like nests under stones or under shrubs.

Description

The species is currently known only from males.

Conservation

Paradonea striatipes is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide southern African geographical range. Additional sampling is needed to collect females and better understand the species' biology.

Taxonomy

The species was described by Lawrence in 1968 from Namibia and serves as the type species for the genus Paradonea. It was revised by Miller et al. in 2012.