Pellenes vanharteni

Pellenes vanharteni is a very small spider. It has a body which is divided into two main parts: a convex swollen cephalothorax and a narrower abdomen. The male has a carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, that is typically 1.3 mm (0.05 in) long, 1.1 mm (0.04 in) wide and 0.7 mm (0.03 in) high. It is dark brown, moderately high. The black eye field is marked and has long brown hairs near some of the eyes. The underside, or sternum, is yellow. There are white hairs on the clypeus. The mouthparts, including the chelicerae, labium and maxillae, are brown. There are two teeth in the front and one in the back. The spider has an abdomen that is typically 1.2 mm (0.05 in) long and 1.9 mm (0.07 in) wide. It is generally yellowish-white with a greyish-brown pattern on the top. It consists of an almost-symmetrical set of markings with a serrated lighter stripe down the middle that is lined by two darker patches that have a bump on the outside, This pattern helps to distinguish the spider from others in the genus. The underside is lighter than the topside. Its front legs are black, longer than the others and have white scales on some of the segments. The second legs are yellow and the remainder are also pale. All the legs have brown hair. …

Pellenes vanharteni is endemic to Cape Verde. It was first found on the island of Sal. The holotype was found near Santa Maria in 1988. Other examples have been found on the island of Maio. They were collected between May and September. It is amongst the most abundant species of spider living in the archipelago.