| Aelurillus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| male A. v-insignitus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Aelurillus Simon, 1885 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Araneus litera v-insignitus Clerck, 1757 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Diversity | |
| 68 species | |
Aelurillus is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders).
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 furry, with females often uniformly mottled sandy brown, while males are often black, sometimes with a pattern and with light, annulated legs. [2]
Spiders in this genus mainly catch and feed on ants (myrmecophagy).
A Southeast Asian species of the genus Aelurillus has been observed to jump around 30-40 times its body length straight onto the back of a large gnaphosid spider and kill it. [3]
They like hot, dry, stony places or small bare open areas with dead twigs or similar amongst low vegetation. [2]
Species of the genus Aelurillus occur in the Palaearctic and Africa, with a few species known from India (A. improvisus, A. minimontanus) and Sri Lanka (A. kronestedti, A. quadrimaculatus). Aelurillus subfestivus is found in Japan.
The following species are recognised in the genus Aelurillus: [4]
Afraflacilla is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Most species are distributed in Eastern to Northern Africa and Australia, with two species found in Europe. This genus was for a time included in the genus Pseudicius, and the boundaries between both genera are disputed. In 2016 Jerzy Prószyński erected the genus Psenuc for some borderline species. The name Afraflacilla is combined from Africa, where most earlier described species were found, and FlacillaSimon, 1901, an obsolete salticid genus now called FlacillulaStrand, 1932. This genus name is in turn derived from Aelia Flaccilla, wife of Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Afraflacilla, Pseudicius, Festucula and Marchena are close relatives and form a monophyletic group.
Evarcha is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae with 85 species distributed across the world.
Heliophanus is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Most of the almost 170 described species occur in Africa, with many others found in the Palearctic region from Europe to Japan.
Langona is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae. Langona species are similar to those of the genus Aelurillus. In 2015, it was listed in the subtribe Aelurillina. The subtribe is allocated to the tribe Aelurillini in the clade Saltafresia. In 2017, it was grouped with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines.
Pellenes is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1876. It is considered a senior synonym of Hyllothyene.
Phlegra is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1876. The name is a reference to a mythical location in both Greek and Roman mythology.
Pseudicius is a genus of the jumping spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1885. The name is combined of Greek pseudo "false" and the salticid genus name Icius. The small genus Wesolowskana should possibly be included in this genus. There is some dispute whether Afraflacilla is a distinct genus or should be included in Pseudicius. Festucula and Marchena are other close relatives, these genera form a monophyletic group.
Stenaelurillus is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1886. Most species live in Africa, with some species found in Asia, including China. All species have two white longitudinal stripes on the carapace, and both sexes show strong bristles around the eyes. The name is a combination of the Greek sten- "narrow" and the salticid genus Aelurillus.
Yllenus is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1868. Until 2019, it was considered a senior synonym of Pseudomogrus, and many of the species formerly placed here were transferred to new genera Logunyllus and Marusyllus by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016.
Aelurillus brutus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The female was first described by Wanda Wesołowska in 1996 and the male by Galina Azarkina in 2003. The spider is small with a carapace that is between 2.5 and 3.2 mm long and an abdomen between 2.4 and 4.7 mm in length. The female is larger than the male. The spider is generally dark brown and hairy, but the male abdomen has a pattern of grey-yellow wavy lines. The difference between this species and others in the genus are subtle. The females are particularly difficult to distinguish. However, there are three distinctive stripes on the eye field and a pattern on the bottom of the abdomen.
Aelurillus kopetdaghi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in Turkmenistan. It was first described in 1996 by Wanda Wesołowska. The species is dark brown and medium-sized, with a bristly carapace that is between 3.4 and 3.5 mm long and a hairy abdomen that is between 3.2 and 4.1 mm long. The female is larger than the male. They also differ in details, such as the colour of the pedipalps, which are orange and brown respectively. The copulatory organs of the female are superficially similar to other species in the genus, like Aelurillus v-insignitus, but the internal structure is more complex.
Langelurillus alboguttatus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Tanzania. It was first described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. Only the male has been identified. The spider is small, with a carapace typically 1.7 mm (0.067 in) long and an abdomen 1.4 mm (0.055 in) long. The dark brown carapace is plain and the yellow abdomen has a single fawn stripe, while the legs are short and yellowish-orange. It is similar to other related species, particularly Langelurillus furcatus, but can be distinguished by the presence of the three tibial apophysis, or spikes, on the pedipalp.
Langelurillus rufus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. The male was originally described by Roger de Lessert in 1925 and named Langona rufa while male and female samples were named Langelurillus difficilis by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith in 2000. The species were combined with the current name in 2012. The spider is small, with a brown carapace that is between 1.9 and 2.0 mm long and an abdomen between 19 and 2.4 mm long. The female can be identified by the orange patches on its carapace. The spider has an abdominal pattern that helps distinguish the species from the related Langelurillus manifestus, which has a brown design on a yellowish abdomen with a brown design while Langelurillus rufus has a yellow design on a brown abdomen.
Langelurillus ignorabilis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Zimbabwe. The female was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming based on an example discovered with ten spiderlings. The male has not been identified. The spider is small with a dark brown carapace 2.7 mm (0.11 in) long and a brownish-grey abdomen 3.0 mm (0.12 in) long. It has short yellow legs. The species is similar to others in its genus and also member of the genus Langona, but differs in the design of the copulatory organs. For example, the seminal ducts are longer and have more loops than Langona bethae.
Aelurillus dubatolovi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in Central Asia. First identified in 2003 in Turkmenistan, it has a distribution that extends from Caspian Sea to Lake Balkhash and includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The spider itself is small, the male being smaller than the female, with a carapace measuring between 3.1 and 3.6 mm in length and an abdomen between 2.9 and 4.1 mm long. The carapace is dark brown, with long hairs along the side that distinguish the species from the similar Aelurillus brutus and Aelurillus lutosus. It also has a hairy clypeus and palpal femora, which enables it to be identified as not being the otherwise similar Aelurillus ater. The female has a net-like pattern on the abdomen. This is clearer on examples found towards the northeast of the species distribution. The spiders found towards the northeast are also smaller, lighter and less hairy, but these are insufficient differences to identify them as a different species.
Aelurillus subaffinis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in East Africa. It was first described in 1947 by Ludovico di Caporiacco based on a specimen that may have come from Tanzania. Only the female has been described. The spider is small. It has a dark brown carapace that is between 3.1 and 3.2 mm long and a yellow abdomen that has a length between 2.75 and 3.8 mm. It has brown chelicerae, a brown-yellow clypeus and yellow legs. The epigyne has a low pocket, distinctive shape and sclerotized flaps. It is similar to the related Aelurillus aeruginosus apart from the copulatory organs.
Pseudomogrus is a genus of jumping spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1937.
Aelurillus hirtipes, synonym Aelurillus sinaicus, is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus that lives in North Africa. First identified by Jacques Denis in Chad in 1960 as part of the Missions Berliet-Ténéré, it has also been found in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. The spider is small, with a brown carapace that is between 3.5 and 3.6 mm long and a yellow abdomen that measures between 3 and 4 mm in length. The male has a small hooked embolus protruding from its palpal bulb and the female has S-shaped flaps on the epigyne and short copulatory ducts. The spider has a covering of light hairs, whiter on the female and more yellow on the male. These hairs help distinguish it from the related Aelurillus v-insignitus and Aelurillus plumipes
Stenaelurillus nigricaudus, synonyms Aelurillus sahariensis and Stenaelurillus nigritarsis, is the type species of the genus Stenaelurillus. It is a jumping spider that lives in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Niger and Senegal. The male was first described by Eugène Simon in 1886 and the female initially in 1936 by Ludovico di Caporiacco and more thoroughly by Nikolaj Scharff and Tamás Szűts in 2005. It is a medium-sized spider with a cephalothorax between 2.4 and 2.7 mm and an abdomen that is between 2 and 3.7 in long. The carapace is reddish-brown and has two white or yellow stripes. The female abdomen has a pattern of stripes and spots, with some examples having brown spots inside yellow spots. The male abdomen has either a single dark stripe or two white and one brown stripes. While the female pedipalps are yellow, the male has either dark or brown pedipalps. The female has distinctive flanges at its copulatory openings. The male is distinguished by the shape of its palpal bulb and, particularly, of its hook-shaped embolus.
