Haplodrassus tesselatus

Haplodrassus tesselatus is a species of spider in the family Gnaphosidae.^[1] It is endemic to South Africa.^[2]

Haplodrassus tesselatus
Conservation status
Least Concern (SANBI Red List)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Gnaphosidae
Genus:	Haplodrassus
Species:	H. tesselatus
Binomial name
Haplodrassus tesselatus (Purcell, 1907)
Synonyms
Drassodes tesselatus Purcell, 1907

Distribution

Haplodrassus tesselatus is found in three provinces of South Africa, Eastern Cape, Free State, and Northern Cape.^[2]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a free-living ground dweller that inhabits the Grassland biome at altitudes ranging from 1,242 to 1,462 m above sea level.^[2]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

Haplodrassus tesselatus is known from both sexes.^[2]

Conservation

Haplodrassus tesselatus is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Although requiring taxonomic revision, current records are from an area that is not heavily transformed and the species is likely under-sampled.^[2]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by W. F. Purcell in 1907 as Drassodes tesselatus from Hanover. In 2025, Yuri M. Marusik and Charles R. Haddad transferred the species to the genus Haplodrassus.^[3]