Langelurillus quadrimaculatus

Langelurillus quadrimaculatus is a small spider. The male has a cephalothorax that is between 1.7 and 1.9 mm (0.067 and 0.075 in) long and between 1.3 and 1.4 mm (0.051 and 0.055 in) wide. It has a brown high carapace, with a black eye field.^[7] The clypeus is orange and high. The chelicerae are toothless and the labium yellow. The abdomen is smaller and narrower than the carapace, nearly spherical in shape.^[8] It is between 1.3 and 1.5 mm (0.051 and 0.059 in) long and between 1.1 and 1.2 mm (0.043 and 0.047 in) wide.^[7] It is brownish-grey with a distinctive pattern made of two pairs of rounded yellow patches.^[9] The underside is light, with some specimens having two grey stripes. The spinnerets are black and light. The legs are yellow with brown hairs and spines. The pedipalps are dark brown with convex palpal bulb. There is a very long and thin dorsal apophysis, or spike, and a broad retrolateral tibial apophysis.^[8] The embolus is hidden behind a shield.^[10]

The female is larger than the male, with a cephalothorax between 2.3 and 2.4 mm (0.091 and 0.094 in) long and 1.7 and 1.8 mm (0.067 and 0.071 in) wide, and an abdomen measuring between 2.5 and 2.6 mm (0.098 and 0.102 in) in length and 2.1 and 2.2 mm (0.083 and 0.087 in) in width.^[7] The abdomen has a similar pattern to the male. The spider has orange to light brown legs and mottling on the sides of the abdomen. The epigyne is broad with gonopores situated on its sides. It has narrow seminal ducts leading to multi-chambered heavily sclerotized receptacles.^[8]

The spider has a distinctive abdominal pattern that distinguishes it from other members of the genus. It has some similarities to the related Langelurillus nigritus, but can be identified by the male copulatory organs, particularly the wide retrolateral tibial apophysis and long dorsal apophysis. The female has a shorter and wider epigyne than other species. The seminal ducts form a distinctive shape.^[7]

Almost all, if not all, Langelurillus spiders live in sub-Saharan Africa.^[11] Langelurillus quadrimaculatus is endemic to Nigeria.^[1] The male holotype and female paratype were discovered near Ibadan in 1973.^[7] It is found in both cultivated and fallow areas, including cowpea crops.^[8]