Aelurillus galinae

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, the hard upper surface of its cephalothorax, with a short black eye field. There is 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. Its sternum, or underside of the cephalothorax, is light brown, The part of its face knowns as its clypeus is brown with light hair. Its chelicerae light brown with dark hairs, its maxillae are darker and have yellow tips, while the remaining mouthparts, including, its labium, are simply light brown.^[5]

Situated behind its cephalothorax, the male's 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. It has a wide brown stripe across the middle of its upper surface although its underside is plain and lighter. The spider's spinnerets are greyish. Its legs are yellow and hairy; they have long spines. Its pedipalps are also light in colour, which is accentuated by them being covered in white hairs. The spider's copulatory organs are distinctive.^[5] The spider's pedipalp terminates with a tibia that has two spikes, known as its tibial apophysis. One is blunter than the other. At the end of the tibia is a smooth cymbium. The spider's palpal bulb has an almost triangular shape with a distinctive blended appendage that extends from the middle. At the summit of the bulb is a small slightly curved embolus that fits in a small valley in the spider's cymbium.^[9]

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, the external visible part of the female's copulatory organs, is typical for the genus.^[5] It has a pocket and wings lining the copulatory openings.^[3] Internally, the two openings lead to relatively short insemination ducts and rounded spermathecae, or receptacles. The spider also has rounded accessory glands.^[9]

The spider can be distinguished from others in the genus by the shape of its head, in particular the front edge and the way that its foremost eyes are set back. A closer inspection of its copulatory organs, and particularly the male's blended apophysis, can also confirm its identity. The female is harder to identify, but the presence of long bowl-like features at the entrance to its seminal ducts and the simple structure of its spermathecae.^[5]

Aelurillus spiders have a wide distribution, mainly in the Palearctic realm.^[10] Aelurillus galinae is endemic to the United Arab Emirates.^[1] First found in Sharjah Desert Park in Sharjah, it has also been identified in Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi.^[5][11]