Runcinia erythrina

Runcinia erythrina is a species of spider in the family Thomisidae. It is commonly known as the round-head Runcinia grass crab spider and occurs in several African countries.

Distribution

Runcinia erythrina is known from Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
In South Africa, the species has been recorded from all provinces except Northern Cape.

Habitat and ecology

Runcinia erythrina are free-living on plants and commonly found on grass.
The species has been sampled from all floral biomes except the Desert and Succulent Karoo biomes, at altitudes ranging from 6 to 2,785 m. It has also been sampled from the crop kenaf.
Males have been found in December and females from October to May.

Conservation

Runcinia erythrina is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in more than eighteen protected areas throughout South Africa.

Taxonomy

Runcinia erythrina was described by Jézéquel in 1964 from the Ivory Coast. The species was revised by Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1980 and 1983 and is known from both sexes.