Scientific name Myrmarachne Higher classification Myrmarachninae Order Spider | Family Salticidae Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Myrmarachne formicaria, Myrmarachne plataleoides | ||
Ant mimic jumping spider japan myrmarachne real japan monsters
Myrmarachne is a genus of jumping spiders which imitate an ant by waving their front legs in the air to simulate antennae. Some species also look strikingly like ants.
Contents
- Ant mimic jumping spider japan myrmarachne real japan monsters
- Myrmarachne spider that mimics the weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina feeding on weaver ant
- Description
- Distribution
- Name
- Species
- References
Spiders in this genus are commonly called antmimicking spiders, although there are many other spiders that mimic ants.
Myrmarachne spider that mimics the weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina feeding on weaver ant
Description
The cephalothorax is elongated, with long chelicerae projecting forward in males. A waist is present on the cephalothorax, and often also on the opisthosoma. Colors vary from black to yellow, depending on the mimicked ant species. One African species was observed to mimick one species when immature, and another as an adult.
The genus Bocus is so similar to Myrmarachne as to be indistinguishable without the help of a microscope.
Distribution
Myrmarachne mainly occurs in the tropics from Africa to Australia, with some species found in the New World. A few species, such as the palearctic M. formicaria, occur in temperate regions. With about 80 described and many undescribed southeast Asian species, it is the most diverse genus of jumping spider in this region.
Name
The genus name is a combination of Ancient Greek myrmex "ant" and arachne "spider".
Species
As of December 2015, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following 228 species:
