Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms; it has evolved over 70 times. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while some predators of ants, especially spiders, mimic them anatomically and behaviourally in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves; the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid-Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants.
Castianeira is a genus of ant-like corinnid sac spiders first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1879. They are found in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas, but are absent from Australia. Twenty-six species are native to North America, and at least twice as many are native to Mexico and Central America.
Blattisociidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata.
Pranburia is a monotypic genus of Southeast Asian ant mimicking corinnid sac spiders containing the single species, Pranburia mahannopi. Christa L. Deeleman-Reinhold described the first male in 1993, and the first female in 2001. It has only been found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. The species is named after Narong Mahannop, one of the collectors of the holotype, and the genus is named after the Pranburi Province, where the male holotype was collected.
Thiratoscirtus alveolus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. The holotype was found on Obudu Plateau, Cross River State at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. The spider is medium-sized, with a cephalothorax that is typically 2.8 mm long and an abdomen that is 2.8 mm in length. The body of the female is generally brown with a covering of delicate hairs. The mouthparts include powerful chelicerae with teeth that have multiple points and a short fang. It can be distinguished from other spiders in the genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the presence of two long and deep parallel troughs in the epigyne that lead to the gonopores. These are recalled in the name for the species, which can be translated "trough".
Thiratoscirtus bipaniculus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. The holotype was found on Obudu Plateau, Cross River State at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a wider cephalothorax that is typically 2.6 mm long and a thinner abdomen that is 2.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. The mouthparts include powerful chelicerae with teeth that have multiple points and a short fang. It can be distinguished from other spiders in the genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the long thin insemination ducts and the presence of slightly sclerotized structures in the middle of the epigyne and two tufts of hair on the edges. The last of those features are recalled in the name for the species.
Thiratoscirtus gambari is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in the forests of Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. Female examples included at the time were later discovered to have been misidentified and so only a description of the male is available. It is a medium-sized spider, with a wider cephalothorax that is typically between 3.4 and 4.7 mm long and an abdomen that is 3.2 and 4.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. It is generally dark brown and grey on top and brownish-orange underneath, although some examples have a lighter underside to their abdomen, and has yellow to brown legs with brown hairs and spines. Its fang is unusual in having small angular features near its base. The spider also has distinctive copulatory organs that enable it to be distinguished from other members of the genus, particularly the relatively wide club-like tibial apophysis, or protrusion on its palpal tibia, and the wing-like appendages on its cymbium.
Thiratoscirtus harpago is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. Only the male has been identified. It is a medium-sized spider, with a cephalothorax that is typically 3.9 mm long and an abdomen that is 2.7 mm in length, both oval in shape. The carapace is generally dark brown and the abdomen dark greyish-fawn on top. The clypeus, or face, has a triangular marking of white hairs. The mouthparts include large chelicerae and a short fang. Its copulatory organs are unusual, including the a very small palpal bulb enclosed in a cymbium that is shaped like a half-moon and a hook at the end of the embolus, which is recalled in the species name, a Latin word that can be translated "harpoon".
Thiratoscirtus monstrum is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a wider cephalothorax that is typically between 3.4 and 3.6 mm long and an abdomen that is 2.6 and 3.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. It is generally dark brown and grey on top and yellow and orange underneath, apart from its legs, which are light yellow. It has particularly unusual copulatory organs that enable it to be distinguished from other spiders in the genus, particularly the design of its epigyne, which is recalled in the species name. The epigyne looks like a large triangle and has a triangular depression in its middle. It has a single copulatory opening and gonopore, one insemination duct and small tube-like spermathecae, or receptacles.
Thiratoscirtus vilis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. The holotype was found at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. on Obudu Plateau, Cross River State. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a cephalothorax that is typically 3.4 mm long and an abdomen that is 3.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. The mouthparts include robust chelicerae and a short fang. It can be distinguished from other spiders in the genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the heart-shaped depression in the middle of the epigyne.
Thiratoscirtus yorubanus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. The holotype was found at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. on Obudu Plateau, Cross River State. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a cephalothorax that is typically 3.7 mm long and an abdomen that is 3.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. The mouthparts include large chelicerae and a short fang. Its copulatory organs are unusual, including the presence of a lobe that is shaped like the head of an axe on the palpal bulb and two protrusions on the palpal tibia, or tibial apophyses.
Thiratoscirtus atakpa is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2012 by Wanda Wesołowska and Glavis Edwards and named for an old name for Calabar, the city near where it was first found. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a cephalothorax that is typically 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is 2.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. It is generally dark brown, apart from its abdomen, which is brownish-grey. This abdomen helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar Thiratoscirtus vilis. The position of the copulatory openings, in the middle of the spider's epigyne, is also distinctive.
Epicadus is a genus of crab spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1895. It is considered a senior synonym of Tobias.
This list of 2023 in paleoentomology records new fossil insect taxa that are to be described during the year, as well as documents significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
