Palystes castaneus

Palystes castaneus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Palystes
Species:
P. castaneus
Binomial name
Palystes castaneus
Latreille, 1819
Synonyms
  • Thomisus castaneus Latreille, 1819
  • Olios castaneus Walckenaer, 1837
  • Olios fuscus Walckenaer, 1837
  • Ocypete melanogaster C. L. Koch, 1845
  • Ocypete nobilis C. L. Koch, 1845
  • Palystes frenatus L. Koch, 1875
  • Palystes chaperi Simon, 1880
  • Olios melanogaster Simon, 1880

Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in parts of South Africa. It is common from Cape Town to Heidelberg, Western Cape, especially in forested areas. In scrub outside forested areas, it is replaced by Palystes superciliosus. It occurs mainly on plants, where it hunts insects. It has a body length of 17–22 mm. P. castaneus is the type species for the genus Palystes, and was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1819.