Rastellus florisbad
species of arachnid
Rastellus florisbad is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is known as the Florisbad lesser termite feeding spider.
Etymology
The species is named after Florisbad, the type locality in the Free State province where it was first collected.
Distribution
R. florisbad is known from two localities in South Africa: the Florisbad Research Station in the Free State and Ndumo Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. The species has a very limited known range at elevations from 140 to 1,283 meters above sea level.
Habitat and ecology
This very small free-living ground dweller is adapted to life in sandy habitats. Like other Rastellus species, it uses its rastelliform digging scoop to excavate silk-lined burrows. The species has been sampled with pitfall traps from Grassland and Savanna biomes.
Conservation status
The species is currently listed as Data Deficient due to its very limited known range and the need for additional sampling to determine its true distribution. It receives some protection in both known locations: the Florisbad Research Station and Ndumo Game Reserve.
“Rastellus florisbad” enters the record as species of arachnid. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rastellus, florisbad and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2473894. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rastellus florisbad” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.