Aelurillus


Aelurillus is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae.

Distribution

Species of the genus Aelurillus occur in the Palaearctic and Africa, with a few species known from India and Sri Lanka. Aelurillus subfestivus is found in Japan.

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 furry, with females often uniformly mottled sandy brown, while males are often black, sometimes with a pattern and with light, annulated legs.

Habits

Spiders in this genus mainly catch and feed on ants.
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.
They like hot, dry, stony places or small bare open areas with dead twigs or similar amongst low vegetation.

Species

, this genus includes 72 species and two subspecies:Aelurillus aeruginosus – MediterraneanAelurillus afghanus Azarkina, 2006 – Afghanistan, PakistanAelurillus alboclypeus Azarkina & Komnenov, 2015 – TurkeyAelurillus ambiguus – LibyaAelurillus andreevae Nenilin, 1984 – Turkmenistan, TajikistanAelurillus angularis Prószyński, 2000 – IsraelAelurillus ater – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, TajikistanAelurillus balearus Azarkina, 2006 – Canary Islands, Spain Aelurillus basseleti – Morocco, Algeria, TunisiaAelurillus blandus – Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, MoroccoAelurillus bokerinus Prószyński, 2003 – IsraelAelurillus bosmansi Azarkina, 2006 – SpainAelurillus brutus Wesołowska, 1996 – Turkmenistan, KazakhstanAelurillus catherinae Prószyński, 2000 – EgyptAelurillus catus Simon, 1886 – SenegalAelurillus cognatus – LebanonAelurillus concolor Kulczyński, 1901 – Greece, North Macedonia, Turkey, Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Iran, Central AsiaAelurillus conveniens – Egypt, Israel, SyriaAelurillus cretensis Azarkina, 2002 – Greece Aelurillus cristatopalpus Simon, 1902 – South AfricaAelurillus cypriotus Azarkina, 2006 – CyprusAelurillus deltshevi Azarkina & Komnenov, 2015 – North Macedonia, Bulgaria, AzerbaijanAelurillus desertus – United Arab EmiratesAelurillus dubatolovi Azarkina, 2003 – Kazakhstan, Central AsiaAelurillus faragallai Prószyński, 1993 – Saudi Arabia, YemenAelurillus galinae Wesołowska & van Harten, 2010 – United Arab EmiratesAelurillus gershomi Prószyński, 2000 – Israel, JordanAelurillus guecki Metzner, 1999 – Greece, TurkeyAelurillus helvenacius Logunov, 1993 – MongoliaAelurillus hirtipes Denis, 1960 – North AfricaAelurillus improvisus Azarkina, 2002 – IndiaAelurillus jerusalemicus Prószyński, 2000 – IsraelAelurillus khorasanicus Azarkina & Mirshamsi, 2014 – IranAelurillus kochi Roewer, 1951 – Greece, Israel, Syria, United Arab EmiratesAelurillus kopetdaghi Wesołowska, 1996 – TurkmenistanAelurillus kronestedti Azarkina, 2004 – India, Sri LankaAelurillus laniger Logunov & Marusik, 2000 – North Macedonia, KazakhstanAelurillus latebricola Spassky, 1941 – TajikistanAelurillus leipoldae – Greece Aelurillus logunovi Azarkina, 2004 – Afghanistan, PakistanAelurillus lopadusae Cantarella, 1983 – Italy, AlgeriaAelurillus lucasi Roewer, 1951 – Canary Islands, SalvagesAelurillus luctuosus – Mediterranean to TurkmenistanAelurillus lutosus – Russia, Kazakhstan, KyrgyzstanAelurillus m-nigrum Kulczyński, 1891 – South-eastern Europe, Russia, Caucasus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, ChinaAelurillus madagascariensis Azarkina, 2009 – MadagascarAelurillus marusiki Azarkina, 2002 – IranAelurillus minimontanus Azarkina, 2002 – IndiaAelurillus minutus Azarkina, 2002 – Syria, EritreaAelurillus mirabilis Wesołowska, 2006 – NamibiaAelurillus monardi – MediterraneanAelurillus murphyorum Azarkina, 2022 – KenyaAelurillus nabataeus Prószyński, 2003 – Israel, JordanAelurillus nenilini Azarkina, 2002 – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, UzbekistanAelurillus numidicus – AlgeriaAelurillus plumipes – Algeria, TunisiaAelurillus politiventris – Greece to IsraelAelurillus quadrimaculatus Simon, 1889 – India, Sri LankaAelurillus quercussuber Wunderlich, 2023 – PortugalAelurillus rugatus – TanzaniaAelurillus russellsmithi Azarkina, 2009 – Ivory Coast, GhanaAelurillus schembrii Cantarella, 1982 – Italy, MaltaAelurillus simplex – HungaryAelurillus spinicrus – MoroccoAelurillus steinmetzi Metzner, 1999 – Croatia, GreeceAelurillus subaffinis Caporiacco, 1947 – EritreaAelurillus subfestivus Saito, 1934 – JapanAelurillus thailandicus Azarkina, 2019 – ThailandAelurillus tumidulus Wesołowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008 – EthiopiaAelurillus unitibialis Azarkina, 2002 – IranAelurillus v-insignitus – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, China