Spiny-backed spider (Chumma inquieta)

This was a very exciting find for me. The family Chummidae has only one genus and two species and are only found in South Africa and to be more exact, have only been recorded in my tiny little corner of the Western Cape. Furthermore unless I am mistaken, this is the only photo of this spider you will find on the internet. I am the envy of arachnologists in South Africa! This tiny spider was only approximately 3mm.

comments (8)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Wow, Claire, congrats! We love species intros, but endemic species are even rarer. And this one isn't just endemic, it's locally endemic. Out of curiosity, I tried an image search as well, and came up completely empty! Posted 10 years ago
1. Claire Hamilton
  
  Lion
  
  Pretty awesome isn't it! Thanks for adding to the list! Posted 10 years ago

WildFlower

Lion

There are a few images here.
http://www.morphbank.net/Browse/ByImage/?tsn=999009155
How did you get to the ID, did you consult the local arachnologists? Posted 10 years ago
1. Claire Hamilton
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Wildflower thats an interesting site. Unfortunately my macro is not that good to confirm ID from those photos. Identification was from the field guide where my photo is identical to that in the book. Local arachnologists thus far have never seen one (including Astri Leroy) and so unable to confirm or not. I am awaiting a response from Ansie Dipenaar who I hope will be able to confirm for me. Or not if that is the case. Posted 10 years ago

Claire Hamilton

Lion

http://www.arc.agric.za/arc-ppri/Documents/1.SPIDERATLASFAMILIESAE.pdf
P113 shows the other photo of this spider Posted 10 years ago
1. WildFlower
  
  Lion
  
  How do you know which species it is, I think they are very similar? Where did you find it, they have a slightly different distribution according to the book? Your main geotag area seems to be in the range of Chumma gastroperforata. Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. Claire Hamilton
    
    Lion
    
    C.gastroperforata is described as having a carapace of cream to orange-yellow, C. inquieta is described as being orange. Considering a total of only 5 of these spiders were collected I feel the range is irrelevant. It is quite normal to find species outside of their documented range.
    If you are not happy with my identification then please Wildflower, feel free to delete it. As I have mentioned before I am still waiting for absolute confirmation so perhaps it is better if I await this confirmation before placing this in a species at all. However, knowing the difficulties in confirming a species this possibly isn't going to happen. Posted 10 years ago

Claire Hamilton

Lion

I have just received a reply from Ansie Dipenaar who confirms that this is indeed a Chumma, however without being able to study its genitalia it is not possible to determine whether C. inquieta or C. gastroperforata. Further specimens have been collected from the Western Cape which may be a new species.
I shall leave the identification as it is unless anyone believes it should be change to C. gastroperforata.
Location wise, C. inquieta has been found in the Port Elizabeth region (East) and C. gastroperforata has been found in the George region (West). The location of this little one is pretty much smack in the middle of these two locations so really, difficult to tell. Posted 10 years ago

The Chumma inquieta

The Chummidae are a tiny spider family with only two described species in one genus. Both were first described in 2001. Both species are known from males and females.
They are small, three-clawed spiders with a strong dorsal scutum. They have no fovea, and the posterior and median spinnerets are reduced.

Info 1 0

Similar species: Spiders

Species identified by Claire Hamilton