Rafalus minimus
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| Rafalus minimus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Rafalus |
| Species: | R. minimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rafalus minimus Wesołowska & van Harten, 2010 | |
Rafalus minimus is a species of jumping spider that lives in the United Arab Emirates. It is smaller than other members of the genus Rafalus, which is recalled in its specific name. Only the male has been described. It has a cephalothorax that is between 2.1 and 2.3 mm (0.083 and 0.091 in) long and an abdomen that is between 1.9 mm (0.075 in) and 2.1 mm long. Its brown carapace has two white stripes and its sternum is plain dark brown. Its abdomen is dark brown with a single white stripe on top and yellow underneath. Apart from its size, it is distinguished from other members of its genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the shape of its tibial apophysis, which has a wide base and a blunt end.
Rafalus minimus is a species of jumping spider, a member of the family Salticidae, that was first described by the arachnologists Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten in 2010.[1] They allocated the species to the genus Rafalus, which had been first circumscribed by Jerzy Prószyński in 1999. He had named it after Jan Rafalsk, who was Professor of Zoology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.[2] The species is named for its small size.[3]
The genus Rafalus was placed in the subtribe Aelurillina in the tribe Aelurillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015, which was allocated to the clade Saltafresia.[4] In 2017, Jerzy Prószyński grouped the genus with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines.[5] It is closely related to the genera Aelurillus and Manzuma, particularly in the shape of its body and the composition of its copulatory organs.[6] The species was described at the first time as two other members of the genus.[7]