Microstigmata zuluensis
species of arachnid
Microstigmata zuluensis is a species of spider in the family Microstigmatidae. It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as the Zululand micro-mygalomorph spider.
Distribution
Microstigmata zuluensis is endemic to South Africa, with a widespread distribution occurring in coastal and inland forests of eastern South Africa. The species has been recorded from Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape and multiple localities in KwaZulu-Natal including Ngome State Forest, Nkandla Forest, Richards Bay, and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (St. Lucia).
Habitat and ecology
The species is a ground-dwelling spider that appears to be restricted to conditions of high humidity and relatively even temperature as found in the understory and litter layer of indigenous forest. Microstigma zuluense was abundant in pitfall traps in the Ngome State Forest and was more active in indigenous forest, being absent or present in low numbers in open grassland and pine plantations.
M. zuluensis is active throughout the year with the lowest numbers recorded in winter (June to August), with males peaking in April. The species has also been sampled during surveys in rehabilitated coastal dune forest and was collected from 100-year-old stands of trees.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of arachnid. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1910710. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Microstigmata zuluensis” 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.