A REVIEW OF THE ARANEIDAE GENERA AND SPECIES IN SOUTH AFRICA (ARACHNIDA: ARANEAE)

South Africa has a rich fauna of Araneidae, with 112 species across 40 genera listed on the South African National Spider Species list. Since the publication of the Araneidae Photo Identification Guides, several changes have been published, supported by new distribution records from iNaturalist. However, except for the species that have been confirmed and are listed for South Africa in the World Spider Catalogue, several species remain of uncertain identification or are completely unknown. Updated data show that 22% Araneidae species are South African endemics with 62 species (55.4%) found throughout Africa, and 16 species (4%) have a wide distribution beyond Africa. But several recorded species remain to be identified, and the expected number of Araneidae species could be as high as 140.