Common Names of Spiders (Araneae) of Southern Africa

Abstract

South Africa has a rich spider fauna with 66 families represented by more than 5 000 species. In the past two decades both specialists and laymen have shown considerable interest in spiders. Although scientific names of the different species are available, these are usually known only to specialists. For the layman the scientific name has little meaning. The main objective of this list is to link a specific vernacular name to a particular taxon to eliminate confusion and to assist the layman. All available publications and reports, both local and those from abroad were perused to compile the list. Most of the names were available in English but due to the need for common names in Afrikaans they were translated. Although this list is not exhaustive, it may serve as a basis for a more complete list to be compiled in future. The pre- liminary list was submitted to arachnid specialists throughout the Republic of South Africa for comment and emendation. The common name recommended for use is printed in bold.