Ant-mimic Crab Spider
This remarkable crab spider mimics the familiar "Kerengga" ant (Oecophylla smaragdina), with the two dark dots on the abdomen simulating the ant's eyes. The clypeus is high and vertical, as in Alcimochthes but the lateral eye tubercles are far apart. The tarsi of the first two pairs of legs are white.
| Length | ♀ 7 mm; ♂ 5 mm |
| Distribution | Singapore, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (Java), Brunei, China, Sri Lanka. |
| Habitat | Foliage in gardens, mangroves, and secondary forest, wherever Kerengga ants can be found. |
| Biology | The spider actively searches and preys on kerengga ants, day and night, moving in an advance-and-halt fashion, often holding legs I in an up-and-down quivering movement. It pounces on the ant, and while holding the ant in its chelicerae and anchoring itself with a safety line of silk, it falls with the ant. The silken "safety line" allows the spider to remain suspended in mid-air where the ant cannot run away and only struggle futilely until the venom takes effect. Apart from the ants, the species may feed upon the sugar solution exuded by plants with extra floral nectaries. |
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Suborder Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
Amycle forticeps (Original description ♂♀)
O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873d On some new genera and species of Araneida: 122, pl. 13, f. 6 doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1873.tb00501.x
Amyciaea forticeps (♂)
Simon, 1895a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier: 983, f. 1054-1057 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973
Amyciaea forticeps (♂)
Szombathy, 1913 Adatok a hangyantánzó ugrópókok pontosabb ismeretéhez: 30, f. 7
Amyclea forticeps (lapsus)
Badcock, 1918 Ant-like spiders from Malaya collected by the Annandale-Robinson Expedition 1901-02: 283, f. 2 doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1917.tb02070.x
Amyciaea forticeps (♂)
Tikader, 1971a Revision of Indian crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae): 65, f. 17J-L
Amyciaea forticeps (♂)
Tikader, 1980a Thomisidae (Crab-spiders): 169, f. 234-236
Amyciaea forticeps (♂, D♀)
Tang & Song, 1988b New records of spiders of the family Thomisidae from China (Araneae): 13, f. 1A-D
Amyciaea forticeps (♂♀)
Song & Zhu, 1997 Fauna Sinica: Arachnida: Araneae: Thomisidae, Philodromidae: 35, f. 17A-D
Amyciaea forticeps (♂♀)
Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999 The spiders of China: 479, f. 274D, 276G, K
Amyciaea forticeps (♂♀)
Sunil Jose et al., 2003a Description of female Amyciaea forticeps (Cambridge), Araneae: Thomisidae, with a redescription of its male from Kerala, India: 157, f. 1a-h
Amyciaea forticeps (♀)
Sen et al., 2015 Spiders (Araneae: Arachnida) of reserve forests of Dooars: Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary: 61, f. 314-318, pl. 16
* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.
Singapore, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (Java), Brunei, China, Sri Lanka.