Menemerus affinis

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Menemerus affinis
Menemerus fagei.jpg
The related Menemerus fagei
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Menemerus
Species:
M. affinis
Binomial name
Menemerus affinis
Wesołowska & van Harten, 2010

Menemerus affinis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in the United Arab Emirates. The spider is externally hard to tell apart from the related Menemerus arabicus or Menemerus fagei ; this affinity is reflected in the species name. The spider was first described in 2010 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten based on a holotype discovered in Ras Al Khaimah. Other examples have been found in Dubai. The spider is medium sized with a brown cephalothorax that is between 2.7 and 2.9 mm (0.11 and 0.11 in) long and a greyish-brown abdomen between 3.1 and 4.0 mm (0.12 and 0.16 in) long. It has brown legs. The female is larger than the male and has an epigyne with a large pocket to the front and a notch at the back. The male copulatory organs has an embolus paired to a large secondary conductor and two spikes, or apophyses, on the pedipalp tibia.

Taxonomy

Menemerus affinis is a species of jumping spider that was first described by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten in 2010. [1] It is one of over 500 species identified by the Polish arachnologist Wesolowska during her career. [2] They allocated the spider to the genus Menemerus , first circumscribed in 1868 by Eugène Simon, that contains over 60 species. [3] The genus name derives from two Greek words, meaning "certainly" and "diurnal". [4]

Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the genus is related to the genera Helvetia and Phintella . [5] The genus also shares some characteristics with the genera Hypaeus and Pellenes . [6] It is a member of the tribe Heliophaninae, renamed Chrysillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015. [7] Chrysillines are monophyletic. [8] The tribe is ubiquitous across most of the continents of the world. [5] It is allocated to the subclade Saltafresia in the clade Salticoida. [8] In 2016, Jerzy Prószyński created a group of genera named Menemerines after the genus. [9] The vast majority of the species in Menemerines are members of the genus, with additional examples from Kima and Leptorchestes . [10] The species is named for its affinity with related species in the genus. [11]

Description

Menemerus affinis is a medium-sized spider. Its body is divided into two main parts, a cephalothorax and an oval abdomen. The male cephalothorax measures typically 2.9 mm (0.11 in) in length and 2.3 mm (0.09 in) in width with an abdomen typically 3.1 mm (0.12 in) long and 2.0 mm (0.08 in) wide. Males of this species have a carapace that is brown with a line down the middle formed of white hairs. The same hairs cover the darker eye field which is darker. [12] The spider's face, known as the clypeus, brown, as are the mouthparts, consisting of chelicerae, labium and maxilae. The sternum, the underside of the cephalothorax, is also brown. The abdomen primarily greyish-brown and covered with dense long brown and greyish hairs with a wide leaf-like shape in the middle and a darker patch to the front. Its sides and underside are light. The spider's spinnerets are light grey. Its legs are brown, the foremost being darker than the rearmost pair, with dense brown leg hairs. The spider makes sounds using stridulatory apparatus of bristles on the legs and a grater on the chelicerae. A key feature of the male Menemerus affinis is its embolus, part of the reproductive system, which is short and slightly curved towards the palpal bulb. The embolus is paired to a large secondary conductor that accompanies the embolus, which is sclerotized at its base. Its pedipalp, which is brown with white hairs, has a tibia with two spikes, or apophyses. These run next to each other, facing upwards. [13]

The female is larger than the male, with a cephalothorax typically 2.7 mm (0.11 in) in length and 1.8 mm (0.07 in) in width and an abdomen typically 4.0 mm (0.16 in) and 2.4 mm (0.09 in) wide. [12] The female is otherwise similar externally to the male, differing in only a few superficial aspects, such as there being wide white streaks on the side of the carapace. The copulatory organs are again characteristic of the species. The epigyne is wide with a deep notch at the back and a large pocket to the front. There are two depressions to the sides. Internally, the structure is typical for the genus. The copulatory openings are hidden in large cups that have strong sclerotization. The insemination ducts are short and lead to spherical spermathecae. [11] Spiders of the Menemerus genus are difficult to distinguish. [14] Apart from its copulatory organs, Menemerus affinis is particularly hard to tell apart from the related species Menemerus arabicus or Menemerus fagei . The similarity in their size and the design of their bodies makes them easy to confuse. [15]

Distribution

Menemerus spiders are found throughout Africa and Asia, and have been identified as far as Latin America. [16] Menemerus affinis is endemic to the United Arab Emirates. It was first found in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, with the holotype collected in 2008 in Wadi Shawka. Other examples are also found living in the Emirate of Dubai. [15]

Related Research Articles

Mogrus cognatus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mogrus that lives in United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The spider was first defined in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Van Harten. It is a small spider. The male has a dark brown or fawn-brownish carapace that range between 2.6 and 2.8 mm long and a yellow-white or dark brown abdomen between 2.7 and 3.1 mm long. The female has not been described. The spider is similar to the related Mogrus fulvovittatus, but can be distinguished by its copulatory organs. It has a long thin embolus that encircles the palpal bulb and has a distinctive membane at its base.

Mogrus portentosus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mogrus that is endemic to Yemen. The spider was first described in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It is brown with a carapace that is between 2.3 and 2.7 mm and an abdomen that is between 2.3 and 3.5 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The spider resembles the related Mogrus fulvovittatus, particularly the female, which can only be clearly differentiated by looking the internal structure of its epigyne. The male is also distinguished by its copulatory organs. It has a distinctive loop on the end of its embolus and a bulbous base to its single tibial apophysis, or spike.

<i>Menemerus davidi</i> Species of spider

Menemerus davidi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in North Africa and the Middle East. The species was first identified in 1999 by Jerzy Prószyński and Wanda Wesołowska working initially independently, and then together. The first description was published by Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she produced during her lifetime. The spider is small, with a carapace that ranges between 2.3 and 3.0 millimetres long and an abdomen that is 2.2 and 3.2 millimetres long, although the female is larger than the male. The carapace is generally a uniform dark brown while the abdomen has a pattern of a light brown stripe and white patches that serves to distinguish it from the related Menemerus animatus. Otherwise, it is its copulatory organs that most distinguish the species from others in the genus. It has distinctive internal structure to the female epigyne. The wide copulatory openings lead down the centre of the spider to the spermathecae while there is also a short narrower channel that runs to the rear of the spider with a prominent scent pore at the end. The male has a noticeably smaller embolus and a distinctive dorsal tibial apophysis.

<i>Menemerus minshullae</i> Species of spider

Menemerus minshullae is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 1999 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has completed during her lifetime. She originally identified the male as a different species, named Menemerus manicus, but merged the two in 2007. It is small to medium-sized spider with a cephalothorax that is between 1.9 and 2.2 millimetres long and an abdomen between 2.1 and 3.3 millimetres long. The female is larger than the male and lighter, with a dark brown rather than black carapace and lighter brown abdomen. The abdomen has a large, leaf-shaped, pattern. It lives on Vachellia xanthophloea trees, using its flattened shape to hide under flakes of bark. The copulatory organs distinguish the species from others in the genus. The male has a very short embolus with a larger accompanying conductor. The female epigyne has two pockets that have strongly sclerotized edges.

<i>Menemerus zimbabwensis</i> Species of spider

Menemerus zimbabwensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Polish arachnologist Wanda Wesołowska first described the female in 1999 and the male in 2007. The spider is large, with a cephalothorax that is between 1.9 and 3.2 millimetres long and an abdomen that is between 2.1 and 4.6 millimetres in length. The female is larger than the male. It also lacks the light stripe down the centre of its dark brown carapace and has a less distinct pattern on its abdomen. Its legs and pedipalps are yellow, while on the male they are brown. The male can be distinguished from the similar Menemerus nigli by the wide stripe on its abdomen. The female is harder to identify without looking at its copulatory organs. These are distinctive. It has characteristic large entrance bowls on its epigyne, which are larger than the insemination ducts and spermathecae combined. Its internal organs are very sclerotized.

<i>Hasarius insularis</i> Species of spider

Hasarius insularis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Hasarius that lives on Socotra Island, Yemen. It was first described in 2002 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is medium-sized, with a carapace that measures typically 4.5 mm (0.18 in) in length and an abdomen that is typically 5.9 mm (0.23 in) long. It has a cephalothorax that is mainly reddish-brown on top and yellowish on the bottom. The abdomen has dark topsides with a yellowish pattern and dark dots and patches underneath. It has copulatory organs that are similar to other species in the genus. The insemination ducts are relatively short and the spermathecae spherical, but they are both thicker than those found in other examples. The spider's name recalls a Latin word that means "insular".

<i>Pellenes striolatus</i> Species of spider

Pellenes striolatus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pellenes that lives on Socotra Island, Yemen. It was first described in 2002 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is smaller than many in the genus, with a carapace that measures typically 1.4 mm (0.06 in) in length and an abdomen that is between 1.3 and 2 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. Both are generally very dark, nearly black, and have a distinctive white pattern on the abdomen. The pattern consists of a central white stripe that is flanked by white diagonal lines, and is recalled in the species name, which can be translated "thinly streaked". The spider has copulatory organs that are similar to other species in the genus. The female has a shallow pocket in the middle of its epigyne and the male has a thick embolus.

<i>Pseudomogrus logunovi</i> Species of spider

Pseudomogrus logunovi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudomogrus that lives in United Arab Emirates. The species was first defined by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten in 2010. They originally placed it in the genus Yllenus, but it was moved to the new genus Logunyllus in 2016, and then to its present designation in 2019. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax that is between 1.5 and 2.0 mm long and an abdomen between 1.6 and 2.2 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The female can be distinguished by its plain brown carapace, in comparison with the male that has two white stripes on its darker surface. Both have brown patches on their yellow legs. The spider can be identified by its copulatory organs. The male has a straight spike on the tibia of its pedipalps, or tibial apophysis, a long embolus with a narrow accompanying terminal apophysis and a small tegulum. The female is hard to distinguish but has shorter insemination ducts than related species.

<i>Evarcha arabica</i> Species of spider

Evarcha arabica is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a carapace that measures between 2.1 and 2.7 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.8 and 3.2 mm long. The female is generally larger and lighter than the male. The spider's eye field is darker. The top of the male abdomen is blackish-brown with a pattern of white dots and a large yellowish-orange belt. The top of the female abdomen has similar white dots but is mainly yellow with small darker dots. The male's legs are brown and yellow while the female's are orange to yellow. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has accessory glands near the copulatory openings and simple bean-like spermathecae. The male has a thin embolus and a tibial apophysis that has a forked tip.

<i>Evarcha picta</i> Species of spider

Evarcha picta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a carapace that measures between 2.4 and 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is between 2 and 2.4 mm long. It has a distinctive pattern on its abdomen that is recalled in its name, which can be translated "patterned", which includes a series of white dots and chevrons. The pattern is less clear on the female than the male. Otherwise, the spider is generally brown and yellow. The male's legs are brown and yellow while the female's are yellow. There is a characteristic fovea, or indentation, in the centre of the carapace. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a large depression in the centre of its epigyne and narrow insemination ducts that lead to long accessory glands and small spermathecae. The male has a terminal apophysis that makes it look as if its embolus has two branches. The spider's brownish-orange clypeus is also an identifying trait.

<i>Evarcha seyun</i> Species of spider

Evarcha seyun is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that is endemic to the Arabian peninsula. It seems to be common across many of the Emirates of the United Arab Emirates and the Al Mahrah and Hadramaut Governorates of Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax that measures between 2.2 and 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is between 2 and 2.7 mm long. The female is hairier than the male. The female spider is generally brown with a darker eye field, while the male is dark brown with a black eye field. Both have legs that are black, orange and yellow. They can be distinguished from the closely-related Evarcha praeclara by the patterns on their body, including a semi-lunar marking in the middle of its carapace and a light stripe on its abdomen. The species also has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a characteristic depression in the middle of its epigyne and narrow insemination ducts that lead to complex spermathecae. The male has a spade-like apophysis that accompanies its embolus and a short blunt tibial apophysis.

<i>Menemerus pallescens</i> Species of spider

Menemerus pallescens is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Yemen. The spider was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. Other examples have been found in the Emirate of Dubai. The spider is medium sized with a carapace that is between 2.5 and 3.1 mm long and abdomen between 3.4 and 4.2 mm long. The carapace is dark brown with white stripes at the back. The abdomen is yellowish-beige or light grey, sometimes with a pattern of lines and spots. The legs are yellow. The spider is hard to distinguish from others in the genus without a study of its copulatory organs. The spider has a shallow notch at rearmost edge of its epigyne and long accessory glands. The male has not been described.

<i>Menemerus patellaris</i> Species of spider

Menemerus patellaris is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Yemen. The spider was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is medium sized with a carapace that is typically 2.6 mm (0.10 in) long and abdomen between 2.9 mm (0.11 in) long. The carapace is brown with white stripes on the edges. The abdomen is yellowish-beige, while the legs are yellow. The spider is hard to distinguish from others in the genus without a study of its copulatory organs. It has a very short embolus and a distinctive furrow in its tegulum dividing a sac of tissue used in copulation called the haematodocha. In addition to the spike, or apophysis on its tibia, it has another one on the patellar, the section between the tibia and the palpal bulb.

<i>Euophrys kawkaban</i> Species of spider

Euophrys kawkaban is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is endemic to Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It is a very small spider, with a body that consists of a carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, that is typically 1.7 mm (0.07 in) long and 1.3 mm (0.05 in) wide and an abdomen that is typically 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long and 1.1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The carapace is yellowish, marked with a pattern of brown wedges, with a dark brown eye field. The underside of the cephalothorax, or sternum, is yellowish-brown. The abdomen has a pattern of yellowish-white and brownish-black spots that, at times, look like a series of waves. The spider's clypeus is unusual, being yellowish-brown with a covering of white hairs, which clearly differentiates the species from the related Euophrys flavoater. The male's copulatory organs, including its long and thin embolus, also helps distinguish the species. The female has not been described.

<i>Aelurillus desertus</i> Species of spider

Aelurillus desertus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Aelurillus 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 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 that is between 2.8 and 3.3 mm long and a abdomen that is between 2.8 and 4.8 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The carapace 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 on the female.

<i>Menemerus cummingorum</i> Species of spider

Menemerus cummingorum is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has written during her lifetime. It is medium-sized spider, with a flattened cephalothorax that is between 2.2 and 2.4 mm and an oval abdomen between 2.3 and 2.9 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. It is also dark brown and marked with a large yellow leaf-shaped pattern compared to the yellowish-grey of the male. Both the male and female have a dark brown carapace, with a pattern of white streaks, a line and five patches, although the pattern is more pronounced on the male. It has yellow legs, the foremost pair being darker and having brown patches. It is similar to the related Menemerus minshullae, but larger.

<i>Menemerus paradoxus</i> Species of spider

Menemerus paradoxus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Yemen. The spider was first described in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony van Harten. Only the female has been described. The spider is small, with an oval and rather flattened carapace that is typically 2.5 mm (0.10 in) long and an oval abdomen typically 3.2 mm (0.13 in) long. The carapace is brown with a darker, nearly black, eye field and the abdomen is yellowish-grey. The spider's legs are also yellowish-grey. The spider is hard to distinguish from others in the genus, particularly Menemerus tropicus. However, its copulatory organs are distinctive. Menemerus paradoxus is characterised by its large epigyne that has a notch in its rear edge, the way that its copulatory openings are hidden in pockets and its heavily sclerotized spermathecae.

<i>Menemerus plenus</i> Species of spider

Menemerus plenus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Yemen. The spider was first described in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony van Harten. Only the female has been described. The spider is small, with a carapace that is typically 2.0 mm (0.08 in) long and an abdomen typically 3.3 mm (0.13 in) long. The carapace is brown, convex and higher than many related spiders. The abdomen is wide and rounded. It is externally similar to Menemerus pulcher and can only be reliably distinguished by comparing the internal structure of the copulatory organs. Menemerus plenus is distinctive for its lack of accessory glands and the thick wall of its insemination ducts.

<i>Plexippus minor</i> Species of spider

Plexippus minor is a species of jumping spider in the genus Plexippus that lives in the United Arab Emirates. The male was first described by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten in 2010 and the female in 2020. The spider is medium-sized with a cephalothorax between 3.1 and 3.8 mm long and an abdomen between 3.3 and 4.1 mm long. It has a shape and colouring typical of the genus. The male has a orange carapace while the female is brownish-fawn. The copulatory organs distinguish it from related species, particularly the male's shorter embolus and tibial apophysis and the female's wide pocket on its epigyne.

<i>Chalcoscirtus picinus</i> Species of spider

Chalcoscirtus picinus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Chalcoscirtus that has been only found in the United Arab Emirates. The spider was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It is a small spider, with a cephalothorax typically 1.4 mm (0.06 in) long and an abdomen typically 2 mm (0.08 in) long. It is hard to tell externally from other spiders as it is similar in size to others in the genus and, like many others, lacks a distinctive pattern on its body. Its carapace is generally greyish-brown with a black eye field while its abdomen is blackish-grey. The spider's copulatory organs. are its most distinguishing feature. The female has a small window made of membrane in the middle of its epigyne, which is narrower than that found in other species in the genus. The male has not been described.

References

Citations

  1. World Spider Catalog (2017). "Menemerus affinis Wesolowska & & van Harten, 2010". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  2. Wiśniewski 2020, p. 6.
  3. Mariante & Hill 2020, p. 1.
  4. Fernández-Rubio 2013, p. 128.
  5. 1 2 Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 541.
  6. Maddison 2015, p. 233.
  7. Maddison 2015, p. 231.
  8. 1 2 Maddison 2015, p. 278.
  9. Prószyński 2017, p. 112.
  10. Prószyński 2017, p. 116.
  11. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2010, p. 40.
  12. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2010, p. 38.
  13. Wesołowska & van Harten 2010, p. 39–40.
  14. Wesołowska 1999, p. 252.
  15. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2010, pp. 37.
  16. Mariante & Hill 2020, p. 3.

Bibliography