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Aelurillus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aelurillus
male A. v-insignitus
Scientific classification Edit this 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).

Description

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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]

Habits

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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]

Distribution

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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.

Species

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The following species are recognised in the genus Aelurillus:[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Gen. Aelurillus Simon, 1885", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-12-22
  2. ^ a b Murphy & Murphy 2000: 273
  3. ^ Murphy & Murphy 2000: 344
  4. ^ "NMBE - World Spider Catalog". wsc.nmbe.ch. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  • Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.

Further reading

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  • Li, D., Jackson, R.R. & Harland, D.P (1999). Prey-capture techniques and prey preferences of Aelurillus aeruginosus, A. cognatus and A. kochi, ant-eating jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from Israel. Isr. J. Zool 45: 341-.
  • Azarkina, G.N. (2004): Two new species of the genus Aelurillus Simon, 1884 from Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Araneae: Salticidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 13(2): 49-52
  • Szűts, T. & Azarkina, G. (2002): Redescription of Aelurillus subaffinis Caporiacco, 1947 (Araneae: Salticidae). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 94: 209-216. PDF
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