Menemerus pallescens

Menemerus pallescens is a medium-sized spider. Females of this species have a flattened elongated carapace that measures between 2.5 and 3.1 mm (0.10 and 0.12 in) in length and 1.8 and 2.2 mm (0.07 and 0.09 in) in width. It is dark brown with light stripes towards the back and covered in whitish-grey hairs. The spider's face, or clypeus is low and covered in small white hairs. The eye field is black and has a small number of brown bristles. The sternum, the underside of the carapace, is fawn. The mouthparts consist of brown chelicerae, light brown labium and light brown maxilae. The chelicerae has no teeth. The spider has an oval abdomen that is between 3.4 and 4.2 mm (0.13 and 0.17 in) long and 2.3 and 3.5 mm (0.09 and 0.14 in) wide. Some examples are a uniform greyish-yellow. Others are light grey on the top with silver spots of translucent crystals made of guanine and diagonal lines made of brown hairs across the back. It is whitish underneath. The spider's spinnerets are light and the legs are yellow with sparse fawn hairs and brown spines.^[12]

Spiders of the Menemerus genus are difficult to distinguish without a study of their copulatory organs.^[13] For this species, that is particularly true for the related Menemerus soldani, and especially those found in Tunisia. The pedipalps are light with white hairs.^[12] The spider has a medium-sized epigyne that is marked by a shallow notch at rearmost edge. There are two rounded copulatory openings on the sides that lie within in deep, strongly sclerotised entrance cavities and lead to spherical spermathecae. It has long accessory glands, although they are shorter than those in Menemerus soldani.^[14] The male has not been described.^[1]

Menemerus spiders are found throughout Africa and Asia, and have been identified as far as Latin America.^[15] Menemerus pallescens is endemic to Yemen.^[1] The holotype was found between Al-Goel and Al Hajar in 2000. Other examples have been seen living in Taiz.^[12]