Stegodyphus mimosarum

{{Short description|Species of spider}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = African social velvet spider

| image = PZSL1889Plate02, Stegodyphus mimosarum.png

| image_caption = female and male

| taxon = Stegodyphus mimosarum

| authority = Pavesi, 1883

}}

Stegodyphus mimosarum, the African social velvet spider, is a species of the genus Stegodyphus, one of the velvet spiders. It is a social species, which is found in South Africa and Madagascar.{{citation |title=The age and evolution of sociality in Stegodyphus spiders: a molecular phylogenetic perspective |author=Jes Johannesen |author2=Yael Lubin |author3=Deborah R. Smith |author4=Trine Bilde |author5=Jutta M. Schneider |journal=Proc Biol Sci |volume= 274 |pages=231–37 |year=2007 |issue=1607 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.3699 |pmc=1685853 |pmid=17148252}} The genome sequence was published in 2014.{{citation |title=Spider genomes provide insight into composition and evolution of venom and silk |author=Kristian W. Sanggaard |display-authors=et al. |journal=Nature Communications |year=2014 |volume=5 |page=3765 |id=3765 |doi=10.1038/ncomms4765|pmc=4273655 |pmid=24801114|bibcode=2014NatCo...5.3765S }} Similar to closely related species such as Stegodyphus sarasinorum, S. mimosarum engages in communal living which involves remaining with the same colony even when prey availability is low, moving away in order to expand the nest not due to lack of food.