# Stenaelurillus hirsutus

Stenaelurillus hirsutus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Stenaelurillus that lives in Central Africa, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. The species name is the Latin word for hairy and the genus name is related to the Greek words for narrow and cat. It lives in a wide range of environments, including hot dry places and amongst stones near rivers. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax that ranges in length between 2.3 and 2.7 mm (0.091 and 0.106 in) in length and an abdomen between 2.4 to 2.5 mm (0.094 to 0.098 in) long. The male is distinguished by its black and white striped pattern on the anterior of the carapace and the existence of a mane of light-coloured hairs around the eye field that is reminiscent of a Mohawk hairstyle. The female's epigyne has a deep narrow pocket and bean-shaped copulatory openings. The male's clypeus has a distinctive pattern of three vertical white stripes on its otherwise black exterior. The species was first described in 1927 by Robert de Lessert.

## Taxonomy

Stenaelurillus hirsutus is a species of jumping spider, a member of the family Salticidae, that was first described in 1927 by the Swiss arachnologist, Robert de Lessert. It was placed in the genus Stenaelurillus that was first circumscribed by Eugène Simon in 1886. The name relates to the genus name Aelurillus, which itself derives from the Greek word for cat, with the addition of a Greek stem meaning narrow. The species name is the Latin word for hairy. The genus was placed in the subtribe Aelurillina in the tribe Aelurillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015, who listed the tribe in the clade Saltafresia. Two years later, in 2017, Jerzy Prószyński grouped it with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines.

### Synonyms

Stenaelurillus cristatus, first identified by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith in 2000, is considered a synonym for Stenaelurillus hirsutus. The species name cristatus derives from the Latin word for crested.

## Description

The spider is small. The spider's body is divided into two main parts: a more rectangular cephalothorax and an oval abdomen. The cephalothorax measures between 2.3 and 2.7 mm (0.091 and 0.106 in) in length and between 1.5 and 1.9 mm (0.059 and 0.075 in) in width, while the abdomen is between 2.4 and 2.5 mm (0.094 and 0.098 in) long and 1.8 and 2.3 mm (0.071 and 0.091 in) wide. The male has a red-brown or dark brown carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, covered in scales, with bands of white scales crossing the back and thorax. It is described as both oval and pear-shaped. The eye field is black and has long dense fawn-coloured hairs that form a mane that produces an effect reminiscent of the Mohawk hairstyle popular in punk fashion. Similar hairs form a brush around the carapace. The sternum, the underside of the carapace, is dark brown. The chelicerae are brown and hairy. There is a small tooth to the rear. The labium and maxilae are light brown.
The abdomen is dark brown with two narrow lines of white hairs at the front and three dots to the rear. Its book lung covers are yellow and its spinnerets are dark brown. Its legs are brown-yellow with a dark brown patch on the forelegs. The front legs have yellow hairs while the remainder have a covering of dark brown hairs. The spider's copulatory organs are distinctive. The pedipalps are yellow, and the palpal bulb is short. The cymbium is covered in dense dark brown hairs. It has a short straight embolus.
The female is slightly larger than the male, typically 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) longer. Its carapace is brown and has white scales covering two yellow stripes that stretch from front to back. It has a yellow sternum as are its cheeks and clypeus. Its chelicerae, labium and maxillae are brown-yellow. It has a dark brown abdomen with three pots and an indistinct leaf pattern marked in white on its back. The spinnerets are brown and legs yellow. The epigyne has flat plate in the middle, a deep narrow pocket and two widely separated bean-shaped copulatory openings. Short insemination ducts lead to large sac-like primary spermathecae, or receptacles.
The spider is almost indistinguishable from other members of the genus, which can make recognition challenging. The male is almost identical to Stenaelurillus bandama and initially the holotype of that species was thought to be Stenaelurillus hirsutus. It is distinguishable by its narrower embolus. The shape of the embolus is also an important difference between this species and Stenaelurillus jocquei. The female is almost identical to Stenaelurillus pilosus, but can be identified by the elongated shape of the spermathecae. The spider is also very similar to Stenaelurillus glaber and Stenaelurillus striolatus. However, it can be distinguished from these species by the pattern on the male clypeus, which is black with three vertical white stripes.

## Distribution and habitat

Stenaelurillus spiders have been found across Africa. The species was first identified near Faradje in Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was then found across East Africa, including around Lake Baringo in the Kenyan Rift Valley, the Mkomazi National Park in Tanzania and Murchison Falls National Park In Uganda. It has also been found near Bambari, Central African Republic, in the West Gonja Municipal District of Ghana, Kossou in Ivory Coast and Bignona in Senegal. The species distribution encompasses Central Africa, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. The species seems to favour hot, dry areas, finding shelter amongst shrubs. It has been found living in shrubland, under stones near rivers and at an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above sea level on Mount Elgon.