About Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870
Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870 is a species of running crab spider that belongs to the family Philodromidae. Its documented distribution covers North America, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Israel, the Caucasus, the area from European Russia to the Russian Far East, Central Asia, China, and Korea. It has a very wide global distribution that extends from Europe to the Far East, and also includes North America, North Africa, and Central Asia. In South Africa, the species has been recorded in eight provinces, across more than 10 protected areas, at altitudes ranging from 7 to 1795 meters above sea level. Thanatus vulgaris is an introduced species in many regions across the world. These spiders are common free-living organisms that live on the ground and on plants. In South Africa, individuals of this species were collected in pitfall traps from the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Thicket biomes. The species has also been sampled from agro-ecosystems growing cotton, lucerne, maize, potatoes, and strawberries.
