Savignia naniplopi

Savignia naniplopi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Family:	Linyphiidae
Genus:	Savignia
Species:	S. naniplopi
Binomial name
*Savignia naniplopi* Bosselaers & Henderickx, 2002

Savignia naniplopi is a species of spider 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.

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

Jan Bosselaers & Hans Henderickx (2002). "A new Savignia from Cretan caves (Araneae: Linyphiidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa 109: 1–8.

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