''Palfuria'' is a

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

genus of the family

Zodariidae Ant spiders are members of the family Zodariidae. They are small to medium-sized eight-eyed spiders found in all tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, New Zealand, Arabia, and the Indian su ...

of which nine species from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

have been described to date.

Distribution

Five species (''P. retusa'', ''P. spirembolus'', ''P. gladiator'', ''P. panner'', ''P. harpago'') are known from the southwestern part of the continent, the other species (''P. gibbosa'', ''P. helichrysorum'', ''P. hirsuta'', ''P. caputlari'') from the eastern part. The last species is from as far north as northern

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. As in many other genera, there is a tendency for the embolus to increase in length. Both the most basal (''Palfuria panner'') and the most derived species (''Palfuria spirembolus'') are found in Namibia.

Species

* '' Palfuria caputlari'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001 (

) * '' Palfuria gibbosa'' (Lessert, 1936) (

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

) * ''

Palfuria gladiator ''Palfuria'' is a spider genus of the family Zodariidae of which nine species from Africa have been described to date. Distribution Five species (''P. retusa'', ''P. spirembolus'', ''P. gladiator'', ''P. panner'', ''P. harpago'') are known from ...

'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001 (

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

) * ''

Palfuria harpago ''Palfuria harpago'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Etymology The species name ''harpago'' means harpoon in Latin. It refers to the shape of the dorsal tibial apophysis as seen from the dorsolateral side. Distribution ''P. harpa ...

'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001 (Namibia) * ''

Palfuria helichrysorum ''Palfuria helichrysorum'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Etymology The species name is derived from the rosette bearing Asteraceae ''Helichrysum'', which serves as a retreat for night active spiders. Distribution ''P. helichryso ...

'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001 (

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

) * ''

Palfuria hirsuta ''Palfuria hirsuta'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Etymology The epithet ''hirsuta'' (Latin for "hairy") refers to the hairy appearance. Distribution ''P. hirsuta'' occurs in Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambi ...

'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

) * ''

Palfuria panner ''Palfuria panner'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Distribution ''P. panner'' occurs in Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlant ...

'' Jocqué, 1991 (Namibia) * ''

Palfuria retusa ''Palfuria retusa'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Distribution ''P. retusa'' occurs in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its ...

'' Simon, 1910 (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) * ''

Palfuria spirembolus ''Palfuria spirembolus'' is a spider species of the family Zodariidae. Etymology The epithet is a compound of Latin ''spira'' (spiral) and ''embolus'', referring to the long large embolus. Distribution ''P. spirembolus'' is only known from Nami ...

'' Szüts & Jocqué, 2001 (Namibia)

References

* Szüts, T. & Jocqué, R. (2001). A revision of the Afrotropical spider genus ''Palfuria'' (Araneae, Zodariidae). ''Journal of Arachnology'' 29(2):205–219
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1318855 Zodariidae Spiders of Africa Araneomorphae genera