Menemerus paradoxus

Menemerus paradoxus is a small spider. The female has a carapace that is typically 2.5 mm (0.10 in) long and 1.7 mm (0.07 in) wide. It is oval and rather flattened, with a brown topside covered in dense brown and grey hairs. The eye field is very dark, almost black with a small number of brown bristles visible. The spider's face, or clypeus, and the underside of the carapace, or sternum, are brown. The chelicerae are dark brown with two teeth to the front and one to the rear. The remaining mouthparts, the labium and maxilae, are brown, the maxillae with light tips. The spider has an oval abdomen that is typically 3.2 mm (0.13 in) long and 2.1 mm (0.08 in) wide. The topside is yellowish-grey and covered in brown hairs. The underside is light. The spinnerets are grey. The spider has yellowish-grey legs that are covered in brown hairs. The epigyne is rather large and very highly sclerotized. It has a large central depressions and a rear edge punctuated with a notch. The copulatory openings are hidden in pockets. The insemination ducts have thin walls and lead to heavily sclerotized spermathecae. There are also long accessory glands. There are large and deep pockets near the epigastric furrow.^[11] The male has not been described.^[1]

Spiders of the Menemerus genus are difficult to distinguish.^[12] The spider can be identified by its copulatory organs, particularly its internal structure.^[11] For example, compared to the related Menemerus tropicus, the spider has a wider pocket in its epigyne and larger spermathecae. The notch on the rear edge of the spider's epigyne is also characteristic of the species.^[13]

Menemerus spiders are found throughout Africa and Asia, and have been identified as far as Latin America.^[14] Menemerus paradoxus is found in Yemen.^[1] The female holotype was found in 1991 near Sanaa.^[15] It is only found in the Sanaa Governorate.^[16]