Stegodyphus is a genus of velvet spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1873. They are distributed from Africa to Europe and Asia, with one species (S. manaus) found in Brazil. The name is derived from Ancient Greek ('), meaning "covered".
Behavior
At least three species are social spiders, and several are known to use ballooning as a method of dispersal.
Species
it contains about twenty species:
- Stegodyphus africanus <small>(Blackwall, 1866)</small> â Africa
- Stegodyphus bicolor <small>(O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)</small> â Southern Africa
- Stegodyphus dufouri <small>(Audouin, 1826)</small> â North, West Africa
- Stegodyphus dumicola <small>Pocock, 1898</small> â Central, Southern Africa
- Stegodyphus hildebrandti <small>(Karsch, 1878)</small> â Central, East Africa, Zanzibar
- Stegodyphus lineatus <small>(Latreille, 1817)</small> (type) â Southern Europe, North Africa to Tajikistan
- Stegodyphus lineifrons <small>Pocock, 1898</small> â East Africa
- Stegodyphus manaus <small>Kraus & Kraus, 1992</small> â Brazil
- Stegodyphus manicatus <small>Simon, 1876</small> â North, West Africa
- Stegodyphus mimosarum <small>Pavesi, 1883</small> â Africa, Madagascar
- Stegodyphus mirandus <small>Pocock, 1899</small> â India
- Stegodyphus nathistmus <small>Kraus & Kraus, 1989</small> â Morocco to Yemen
- Stegodyphus pacificus <small>Pocock, 1900</small> â Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, India
- Stegodyphus sabulosus <small>Tullgren, 1910</small> â East, Southern Africa
- Stegodyphus sarasinorum <small>Karsch, 1892</small> â India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar
- Stegodyphus simplicifrons <small>Simon, 1906</small> â Madagascar
- Stegodyphus tentoriicola <small>Purcell, 1904</small> â South Africa
- Stegodyphus tibialis <small>(O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)</small> â India, Myanmar, Thailand, China
- Stegodyphus tingelin <small>Kraus & Kraus, 1989</small> â Cameroon
References