Melychiopharis cynips
Encyclopedia
Melychiopharis cynips is an ant-mimicking
spider
from Brazil
.
It was briefly transferred from the family Araneidae to Theridiidae between 2002 and 2005, based mainly on characteristics of the male palp.
Ant mimicry
Ant mimicry is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and insect predators that rely on vision to identify their prey such as birds and wasps normally avoid them, either because they are unpalatable, or aggressive. Thus some other arthropods mimic ants to escape...
spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
It was briefly transferred from the family Araneidae to Theridiidae between 2002 and 2005, based mainly on characteristics of the male palp.