Amblyothele

{{Short description|Genus of spiders}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox| taxon=Amblyothele| authority=Simon<ref name=wsc /> |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision=8, see text }}

'''''Amblyothele''''' is an African genus of wolf spiders in the family Lycosidae, with eight described species. It was first described in 1910 by Eugène Simon.<ref name=wsc />

==Description== Small wolf spiders with males measuring 3.08-4.17 mm and females 3.33-5.17 mm. The carapace lacks a distinct pattern, sometimes with a pale median band and darker striae radiating from the fovea.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The anterior eye row is either straight or more often recurved. The anterior median eyes are equal to twice the diameter of the anterior lateral eyes. The chelicerae are pale, mottled or streaked with grey, and clothed in long dark setae. The posterior margin has two teeth, and the anterior margin normally has three minute teeth. The sternum is pale, scutiform, and moderately to strongly produced between the hind coxae with a scattering of dark setae.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The abdomen is pale yellow to brown, sometimes suffused with grey and usually with a paler dorsal folium. In some species there is a row of four paired pale white spots. Males lack a dorsal scutum. The dorsal surface is sometimes clothed in dark hairs while the venter is pale yellow to white. The spinnerets are long, with the anterior lateral spinneret twice the length of the anterior median spinneret and clearly three-segmented.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

The legs are pale yellow to pale brown and clothed in short adpressed setae. All leg spines are long, thin and pale. Leg IV is longer than leg I. The ventral spines of leg I normally have three pairs on the tibia and three on the metatarsus, with distal pairs normally reduced in size. The tarsi have three claws.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

==Lifestyle== Species in this genus are free-running ground dwellers frequently sampled from pitfall traps.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />

==Taxonomy== The genus was revised by Russell-Smith, Jocqué and Alderweireldt in 2009.<ref name="russellsmith2009" />

==Species== {{as of|2025|10}}, this genus includes eight species:<ref name="wsc" /> {{Div col}} * ''Amblyothele albocincta'' Simon, 1910 – Botswana, South Africa (type species) * ''Amblyothele atlantica'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – Cameroon * ''Amblyothele ecologica'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – South Africa * ''Amblyothele hamatula'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – Ivory Coast * ''Amblyothele kivumba'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – Rwanda * ''Amblyothele latedissipata'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa * ''Amblyothele longipes'' Russell-Smith, Jocqué & Alderweireldt, 2009 – Ivory Coast, Togo * ''Amblyothele togona'' Roewer, 1960 – Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Togo, DR Congo, Kenya {{Div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/1772 | title=Genus Amblyothele | publisher=World Spider Catalog | doi=10.24436/2 | accessdate=2025-10-02}}</ref> <ref name="dippenaar2021">{{cite book | last1=Dippenaar-Schoeman | first1=A.S. | last2=Haddad | first2=C.R. | last3=Foord | first3=S.H. | last4=Lotz | first4=L.N. | year=2021 | title=The Lycosidae of South Africa. Version 1: part 1 (A-H) | publisher=South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide | page=19 | doi=10.5281/zenodo.6324709}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4}}</ref> <ref name="russellsmith2009">{{cite journal | last1=Russell-Smith | first1=A. | last2=Jocqué | first2=R. | last3=Alderweireldt | first3=M. | year=2009 | title=A revision of the African wolf spider genus Amblyothele Simon (Araneae, Lycosidae, Piratinae) | journal=ZooKeys | issue=16 | pages=149–180 | doi=10.3897/zookeys.16.233 | doi-access=free }}</ref> }}

Category:Lycosidae Category:Lycosidae genera Category:Spiders of Africa Category:Taxa named by Eugène Simon