Savignia naniplopi is a species of spiders belonging to the family Linyphiidae. It is only known from two adjacent caves, Arkalospiliara and Doxa, in Heraklion regional unit on the island of Crete, Greece.

Savignia naniplopi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Linyphiidae
Genus: Savignia
Species:
S. naniplopi
Binomial name
Savignia naniplopi

This is a very small spider with a total length (excluding legs) of only around 1.6 millimetres (0.063 in). All parts are a plain orange colour. The sexes are rather similar apart from the male having a distinctively shaped "snout" which carries two of the eight eyes.

The specific name is a Latin rendering of "Plop the gnome", a reference to the Belgian children's TV character Kabouter Plop. This refers to the subterranean habits of this species and also to the resemblance in shape of the "snout" of the male to Kabouter Plop's hat. The species was described by two Belgians.

References

edit
  • Jan Bosselaers & Hans Henderickx (2002). "A new Savignia from Cretan caves (Araneae: Linyphiidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 109: 1–8. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.109.1.1.