Aelurillus Desertus
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''Aelurillus desertus'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''
Aelurillus ''Aelurillus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Description Species of the genus ''Aelurillus'' are typically about 7 mm long in females, and up to five mm in males. They are stout, squat-shaped and rather f ...
'' that is endemic to the United Arab Emirates. It was first described in 2010 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. Initially only the male was described, the female following ten years later. The spider was originally classified in the genus ''
Rafalus ''Rafalus'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Jerzy Prószyński in 1999. Species it contains twelve species, found only in Africa and Asia: *'' Rafalus arabicus'' Wesolowska & van Harten, 2010 – United Arab Emirates * ...
'' but was moved to its current genus at the same time as the female description was first published. The species is medium-sized with
cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
that is between long and a abdomen that is between long. The female is larger than the male. The
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
has a distinctive stripe. The female has three darker spots on the abdomen. The species can be distinguished by the existence of a triangular lobe on the palpal bulb on the male and the way that the copulatory openings are close to the rear of the
epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...
on the female.


Taxonomy

''Rafalus desertus'' is a jumping spider that was first described by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten in 2010. It is one of over 500 species identified by the Polish arachnologist Wesolowska. The species is named for the desert habitats of the United Arab Emirates. The spider was placed in the genus ''
Rafalus ''Rafalus'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Jerzy Prószyński in 1999. Species it contains twelve species, found only in Africa and Asia: *'' Rafalus arabicus'' Wesolowska & van Harten, 2010 – United Arab Emirates * ...
'', named for the Polish arachnologist Jan Rafalski. The genus had been created by
Jerzy Prószyński Jerzy Prószyński (born 1935 in Warsaw) is a Polish arachnologist specializing in systematics of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw, a long-term employee of the Siedlce University of Natural Scienc ...
in 1999 based on the discovery of spiders that were related to the genus ''
Aelurillus ''Aelurillus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Description Species of the genus ''Aelurillus'' are typically about 7 mm long in females, and up to five mm in males. They are stout, squat-shaped and rather f ...
''. The spider was subsequently transferred to ''Aelurillus'' in 2020 on the basis of the shape of the embolus and
epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...
. ''Aelurillus'' was first described by
Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4, ...
in 1885. The genus name derives from the Greek word for cat. It was placed in the subtribe Aelurillina in the tribe Aelurillini, both named after the genus, by Wayne Maddison in 2015. These were allocated to the
clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
Saltafresia. In 2017, the genus was grouped with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines.


Description

The spider is medium-sized and hairy. The male has a
cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
that is between in length and in width. It has a brown striped elongated
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
and a short darker eye field, The abdomen is between long and wide. It is brown on top with a wide stripe across the middle and yellow underneath. The clypeus is brown with a few white hairs visible. The chelicerae are dark brown with dark hairs and two front teeth. The spinnerets and pedipalps are light while the
legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...
are spotty and between dark yellow and orange in colour. The palpal bulb is mainly covered with light hairs. The
tegulum The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often desc ...
has a complex shape, being large and convex with a distinctive small triangular lobe at it edge. The visible part of the embolus is very small. The female was first described ten years after the male. It is slightly larger, with a cephalothorax that is long and wide and an abdomen long and wide. The colouring of the carapace is darker and it is more pear-shaped. The abdomen is similar in colour but has three darker spots and has white hairs and brown bristles. The chelicerae is brown and the legs are light brown. The pedipalps are hairy. The epigyne has weak sclerotization and two pockets towards the back. The spermathecae have multiple chambers and are also sclerotized. The male can be distinguished from other species by the striped pattern and the triangular lobe on the palpal bulb. The female is best differentiated by looking at the copulatory openings, which are close to the rear of the epigyne unlike most spiders in the genus.


Distribution

''Aelurillus desertus'' is endemic to the United Arab Emirates. It was first found in the Emirate of Ajman, with the holotype collected in 2008. It has also been identified in Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
and Al Wasit in Sharjah, with specimens collected in 2010, 2014 and 2015.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q116263577, from2=Q2334498 Endemic fauna of the United Arab Emirates Salticidae Spiders described in 2010 Spiders of the Arabian Peninsula Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska