Myrmarachne

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Myrmarachne
Myrmarachne sp.jpg
Myrmarachne sp. mimicking an ant
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Myrmarachne
MacLeay, 1839 [1]
Type species
M. melanocephala
MacLeay, 1839
Species

185, see text

Synonyms [1]

Myrmarachne is a genus of ant-mimicking jumping spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839. [5] They are commonly called ant-mimicking spiders, but they are not the only spiders that have this attribute. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek μύρμηξ ( myrmex ), meaning "ant", and ἀράχνη ( arachne ), meaning "spider".

Contents

This genus has undergone many changes, and is still under review as more information becomes available. [1] In 2016, several genera were split off, including Helicius and the monotypic genus Panachraesta . [6] The genus Emertonius was revalidated in 2018 after being synonymized with Myrmarachne for nearly thirty years. [7]

Description

Myrmarachne have an elongated cephalothorax with relatively long chelicerae that projects forward in males. The chelicerae of males can lack venom glands. [8] The cephalothorax has a waist, and the opisthosoma often has one too. The colors can vary from black to yellow, depending on ant species it is mimicking, and can change over the course of its life. For example, one African species was observed to mimic a certain species of ants as a juvenile, and another ant species as an adult. [9]

They tend to wave their front legs in the air to simulate antennae, and many have bodies that also closely resemble ants. It was assumed they didn't use their front legs for locomotion at all, but high-speed cameras have showed that they move around using all eight legs, raising their forelimbs only when stationary. [10]

The genus Bocus is so similar to Myrmarachne that it cannot be distinguished without the help of a microscope. [9]

Species

With about 80 described and many undescribed southeast Asian species, Myrmarachne is the most diverse genus of jumping spider in this region. [9] A few species, such as the palearctic M. formicaria , occur in temperate regions. [1]

As of April 2024 it contains 195 species and three subspecies found in the tropics from Africa to Australia, with some species found in the New World: [1]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Hyllus</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

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<i>Phintella</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Rhene</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Telamonia</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Thyene</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Cheiracanthium</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Diaea</i> Genus of spiders

Diaea is a genus of crab spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. Most species are found in specific locations except for D. livens, which occurs in the United States and D. dorsata, which has a palearctic distribution. Adults are 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 7 millimetres (0.28 in) and tend to hide in and around vegetation, especially flowers, where their color allows them to blend in to their surroundings.

<i>Cyclosa</i> Genus of spiders

Cyclosa, also called trashline orbweavers, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866. Widely distributed worldwide, spiders of the genus Cyclosa build relatively small orb webs with a web decoration. The web decoration in Cyclosa spiders is often linear and includes prey remains and other debris, which probably serve to camouflage the spider. The name "Cyclosa" comes from Greek 'to move in a circle', referring to how it spins its web.

<i>Neoscona</i> Genus of spiders

Neoscona, known as spotted orb-weavers and barn spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders (Araneidae) first described by Eugène Simon in 1895 to separate these from other araneids in the now obsolete genus Epeira. The name Neoscona was derived from the Greek νέω, meaning "spin", and σχοῖνος, meaning "reed" They have a mostly pantropical distribution and one species, Neoscona adianta, has a palearctic distribution. As of April 2019 there are eight species that can be found in the United States and Canada:

<i>Cyrtophora</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Clubiona</i> Genus of spiders

Clubiona is a genus of sac spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804.

<i>Oxyopes</i> Genus of spiders

Oxyopes is a genus of lynx spiders found worldwide. It includes arounds 300 species and is classified under the lynx spider family Oxyopidae. Like other lynx spiders, they are easily recognizable by the six larger eyes arranged hexagonally on top of the head (prosoma), with the remaining smaller two eyes in front. They are also characterized by long spine-like bristles (setae) on their legs. They are ambush predators, actively hunting prey by sight. Though they produce and use silk, they do not build webs to capture prey.

Hermosa is a genus of jumping spiders first described by G. W. Peckham and E. G. Peckham in 1892, and synonymized with Myrmarachne in 1901. In 2016, Jerzy Prószyński split up Myrmarachne, creating nine new genera, all with names beginning "Myrm". However, it turned out that Myrmavola volatilis, the type species of Myrmavola, was also the type species of Hermosa, and Myrmavola was made a junior synonym. It is part of the Myrmarachnini tribe within the Salticoida clade of Salticinae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gen. Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839". World Spider Catalog Version 25.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2024. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Simon, E (1901). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris: Roret. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
  3. Wanless, F. R. (1978). "A revision of the spider genera Belippo and Myrmarachne (Araneae: Salticidae) in the Ethiopian region". Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History. 33: 18.
  4. Bonnet, P. (1957), Bibliographia araneorum, vol. 2, Douladoure, Toulouse, pp. 1927–3026
  5. MacLeay, W. S. (1839). "On some new forms of Arachnida". Annals of Natural History. 2 (7): 1–2.
  6. Prószyński, J. (2016). "Delimitation and description of 19 new genera, a subgenus and a species of Salticidae (Araneae) of the world". Ecologica Montenegrina. 7: 4–32. doi: 10.37828/em.2016.7.1 .
  7. Prószyński, J. (2018). "Review of genera Evarcha and Nigorella, with comments on Emertonius, Padilothorax [sic], Stagetillus, and description of five new genera and two new species (Araneae: Salticidae)". Ecologica Montenegrina. 16: 165. doi: 10.37828/em.2018.16.12 .
  8. Yu, Guocheng; Wong, Boon Hui; Painting, Christina J; Li, Hongze; Yu, Long; Zhang, Zengtao; Zhang, Shichang; Li, Daiqin (28 December 2022). "Males armed with big weapons win fights at limited cost in ant-mimicking jumping spiders". Current Zoology. 70: 98–108. doi: 10.1093/cz/zoac101 . PMC   10926263 . PMID   38476142.
  9. 1 2 3 Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. p. 304.
  10. Making eight legs look like six - Study untangles mystery of how jumping spiders mimic ants’ movement

Further reading