Synageles venator

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Synageles venator
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Arachnida Order: Araneae Family: Salticidae Genus: Synageles Species: S. venator
Binomial name
Synageles venator (Lucas, 1836)
Synonyms
Attus venator Salticus myrmecoides Leptorchestes venator Leptorchestes ludibundus Synageles ludibundus Synageles confusus

Synageles venator is a species of ant-like jumping spider. It occurs in the Palearctic region and Canada, and is also found in North Africa. In Central Europe it is the most common ant-like jumping spider^[1].

Contents 1 Description 2 Effect of mimicry 3 Footnotes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Description

Female are about four millimeters long, males slightly smaller. They are similar to the jumping spider Leptorchestes berolinensis, but feature a white line on the back ouf their heads.^[1]

[edit] Effect of mimicry

These spiders are virtually indistinguishable from ants, even for humans looking at them rather closely. They move rapidly like an ant, and even raise their second pair of legs like an ant's antennae. Hand-raised tits that had never come in contact with ants ate spiders of this species readily. However, after their first encounters with real ants, and the nauseating effect of their formic acid, they refrained from eating S. venator.^[1]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Bellmann, Heiko (1997): Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. Kosmos. ISBN 3440107469

[edit] External links

• Salticidae.org: Diagnostic drawings