Aelurillus galinae

Aelurillus galinae is a 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.[2] It was placed in the genus Aelurillus that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1885.[3] The genus name derives from the Greek word for cat.[4] The species is named after the arachnologist Galina Azarkina.[5] 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 Saltafresia.[6] In 2017, the genus was grouped with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines.[7]

Aelurillus galinae is a small spider. The male has a cephalothorax that is between 1.5 and 1.6 mm (0.059 and 0.063 in) in length and 1.2 and 1.4 mm (0.047 and 0.055 in) in width. It has a brown carapace and a short black eye field, with a pattern of four thin lines formed of white hairs on the eye field that merge into two wider stripes on the thorax. The carapace has a distinctive shape, particularly at the front, with the front set of eyes extending beyond the body, particularly the central eyes. The yellow abdomen is between 1.4 and 1.6 mm (0.055 and 0.063 in) long and 1 and 1.1 mm (0.039 and 0.043 in) wide and has a wide brown stripe across the middle. The clypeus is brown with light hair, the chelicerae light brown with dark hairs and the spinnerets are greyish. The legs are yellow and hairy. The pedipalps are also light in colour, which is accentuated by them being covered in white hairs. The palpal bulb has two short tibial apophyses and distinctive blended appendages that extend from the middle.[5]

The female is slightly larger than the male, with a cephalothorax that is 1.7 and 1.8 mm (0.067 and 0.071 in) long and 1.3 and 1.4 mm (0.051 and 0.055 in) wide and an abdomen 1.9 and 2.2 mm (0.075 and 0.087 in) long and 1.9 and 2.2 mm (0.075 and 0.087 in) wide. The colouring of the carapace is similar, although the lines are less clear, but the distinctive position of the eyes is the same. The abdomen is very different, being spherical and swollen in shape and patterned with fawn and greyish patches. The legs are spotted brown, but otherwise also similar. The epigyne is typical for the genus.[5] It has a pocket and wings lining the copulatory openings.[3]

The spider is endemic to the United Arab Emirates. First found in Sharjah Desert Park in Sharjah, it has also been identified in Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi.[5][8]