Ant-mimicking jumping spider | Crazy evolution

Don't believe everything you "see"
This isn't an ant but an ant-mimic Myrmarachne sp jumping spider male

Ant-mimicking spider, Salticidae to me.

Myrmarachne japonica

Ant-mimicking jumping spider Myrmarachne

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Myrmarachne
Species: M. ?

Nature's best tiny mimic artist

Here is a handsome ant-mimic jumping spider; once you realise that this is not an ant but, in actuality, a jumping spider

One of the coolest Jumping Spiders you will ever see! This one uses Mimicry to look like a Black Ant in order to eat them!

really looks like an ant, smart guy

You have probably seen one before but thought it was just the usual ant. No its not an ant but a spider!

Spiders that mimic ants have special physical adaptations that make them look very ant-like. These spiders have elongated bodies and often match the coloration of a particular ant species. They may have a false “waist” in their abdomens to create the appearance of a third body segment. Some have dark patches on the sides of their head that look like ant eyes.

A good mimic must move and behave like an ant, too. The ant-mimicking jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria, found throughout North America, walks in a winding path, just like an ant following a chemical trail. They pause frequently to briefly raise their forelegs into an antennae-like posture. Their behavior is fast enough to fool animals with slower visual systems, including humans, into thinking they are watching an ant at work.

his magnificent pair of jaws (known as 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗲) make it clear that he is a male,The large chelicerae indicates its a male. out and about and ready for love.
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Females have smaller chelicerae that do not extend anteriorly; they are more convincing ant-mimics. I did not see a female around, sadly.
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I used to think that species like this belonged to the genus 𝘔𝘺𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦 (literally, "ant spider" from Greek 𝘮𝘺𝘳𝘮𝘢 -- ant; and 𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘦 -- spider), but now I wonder if they might actually be classified under the genus 𝘛𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘶𝘴. I do not know what characteristics distinguish these two genera from each other, so I would be most pleased if anyone could shed some light on this.
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Taxonomy aside, these spiders are truly impressive ant mimics. Their mimicry goes beyond morphology: they move in a haphazard zigzag manner similar to ants, albeit with a tell-tale line of spidery silk anchoring them to the surface of the leaf (not visible in these photographs); they also use their first pair of legs more as feelers rather than for movement, waving them about like ant antennae.
A neat thing about these tiny jumping spiders is that they tend to wave their front pair of legs out front so that they look like ant antennae.

Not an ant! This amazing covert creature is an ant mimicking spider, Myrmarachne macaulayi.

Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. 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 (Batesian mimicry), while some predators of ants, especially spiders, mimic them anatomically and behaviourally in aggressive mimicry.

There are ant mimics all over the world. I remember seeing one last year when turning over a log who's just calmly picking off ants one by one, eating them while it hid in plain sight. Talk about sleeping with the enemy!!


I've only seen a handful of these, making every encounter pretty special! Happy Salticidae Sunday!

Nothing so wonderful as nature. These creatures had evolved millions of years before humans appeared.

"Shh! I am a perfectly normal ant" - spider

#antmimic #antmimicspider #myrmecomorphy #jumpingspider #salticidae #arachnology #taxonomy #biodiversity #crazy
#jumpingspider #Araneae #arachnid
#spider #myrmarachne

This particular species mimics the asian weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) and lives in close proximity of weaver ants and feed on them.

Behold: The Ant Mimicking Spider (Myrmarachne sp) 7-8mm