Cosmophasis

<i>Cosmophasis</i>

Cosmophasis

Genus of spiders

Cosmophasis is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). They are predominantly Southeast Asian,[2] while some species occur in Africa and Australia. Although most species more or less mimic ants, there are also colorful species[3] that follow a different strategy.

Quick Facts Cosmophasis, Scientific classification ...

C. bitaeniata uses chemical mimicry to be accepted by the aggressive weaver ant species Oecophylla smaragdina.[4]

One species, said to be not a particularly good ant mimic, was observed living near and preying on ants. According to (Murphy & Murphy, 2000), "to watch the spider stalking and killing its prey is an arachnological spectacular".[5]

Description

Species in this genus are from 3.80 to 8.00 mm long. The cephalothoraxes are pear-shaped(for some males) or rectangular. [6]

Taxonomy

Cosmophasis sp. from the Philippines.

As of November 2021, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:[7]

  • Cosmophasis albipes Berland & Millot, 1941 – Guinea
  • Cosmophasis albomaculata Schenkel, 1944 – Timor
  • Cosmophasis ambonensis Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Ambon Island
  • Cosmophasis arborea Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – Caroline Islands
  • Cosmophasis baehrae Zabka & Waldock, 2012 - Australia
  • Cosmophasis bandaneira Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Banda Islands
  • Cosmophasis banika Żabka & Waldock, 2012 - Solomon Islands
  • Cosmophasis bitaeniata (Keyserling, 1882) – New Guinea, Australia, Micronesia
  • Cosmophasis chlorophthalma (Simon, 1898) – New Hebrides
  • Cosmophasis chopardi Berland & Millot, 1941 – Ivory Coast
  • Cosmophasis colemani Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Australia (Queensland)
  • Cosmophasis courti Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis cypria (Thorell, 1890) – Java
  • Cosmophasis darwini Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Australia (Northern Territory)
  • Cosmophasis depilata Caporiacco, 1940 – Ethiopia
  • Cosmophasis estrellaensis Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis fazanica Caporiacco, 1936 – Libya
  • Cosmophasis gemmans (Thorell, 1890) – Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis harveyi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis hortoni Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Solomon Is.
  • Cosmophasis humphreysi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis kairiru Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis kohi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis lami Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – East Asia, South East Asia, Pacific islands
  • Cosmophasis laticlavia (Thorell, 1892) – Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis lucidiventris Simon, 1910 – Gabon
  • Cosmophasis lungga Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Solomon Islands
  • Cosmophasis maculiventris Strand, 1911 – Aru Islands
  • Cosmophasis masarangi Merian, 1911 – Sulawesi
  • Cosmophasis micans (L. Koch, 1880) – Queensland
  • Cosmophasis micarioides (L. Koch, 1880) – New Guinea, Queensland, Solomon Islands
  • Cosmophasis miniaceomicans (Simon, 1888) – Andaman Islands
  • Cosmophasis modesta (L. Koch, 1880) – Queensland
  • Cosmophasis monacha (Thorell, 1881) – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis motmot Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis obscura (Keyserling, 1882) – Queensland
  • Cosmophasis olorina (Simon, 1901) – Sri Lanka
  • Cosmophasis ombria (Thorell, 1877) – Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Krakatau)
  • Cosmophasis orsimoides Strand, 1911 – Kei Islands
  • Cosmophasis panjangensis Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
  • Cosmophasis parangpilota Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis psittacina (Thorell, 1887) – Myanmar
  • Cosmophasis pulchella Caporiacco, 1947 – Ethiopia
  • Cosmophasis quadricincta (Simon, 1885) – Singapore
  • Cosmophasis rakata Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
  • Cosmophasis risbeci Berland, 1938 – New Hebrides
  • Cosmophasis sertungensis Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
  • Cosmophasis squamata Kulczyński, 1910 – Solomon Islands, Seychelles
  • Cosmophasis strandi Caporiacco, 1947 – East Africa
  • Cosmophasis tavurvur Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis thalassina (C. L. Koch, 1846) – Malaysia to Australia
  • Cosmophasis tricincta Simon, 1910 – Bioko
  • Cosmophasis trioipina Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis tristriatus (L. Koch, 1880) – Palau Is.
  • Cosmophasis trobriand Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis umbratica Simon, 1903 – India to Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis valerieae Prószyński & Deeleman-Reinhold, 2010 – Indonesia (Java, Lesser Sunda Is.)
  • Cosmophasis viridifasciata (Doleschall, 1859) – Sumatra to New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis waeri Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Banda Islands
  • Cosmophasis weyersi (Simon, 1899) – Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis xiaolonghaensis Cao & Li, 2016

In 2012, Marek Żabka and Julianne Waldock proposed 5 new species groups, it being the C.thalassina species group, C. bitaeniata species group, C. micarioides species group, C. tristriatus species group, and the C. rakata species group.[6] Formerly placed in this genus include:[7]

  • Cosmophasis australis Simon, 1902 → Phintella australis
  • Cosmophasis caerulea Simon, 1901 → Mexcala caerulea
  • Cosmophasis fagei Lessert, 1925 → Icius fagei
  • Cosmophasis nigrocyanea (Simon, 1885) → Mexcala nigrocyanea
  • Cosmophasis quadrimaculata Lawrence, 1942 → Mexcala quadrimaculata
  • Cosmophasis longiventris Simon, 1903 → Chrysilla lauta

References

  1. [1]
    Simon, Eugène (1892). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Smithsonian Libraries. Paris : Roret. pp. 553–554. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973. LCCN agr08000137. OCLC 1046005797.
  2. [2]
    Donovan, B.; Hill, D. E. (30 April 2017). "Report of Cosmophasis feeding on butterfly eggs in Queensland (Araneae: Salticidae: Chrysillini)". Peckhamia. 149 (1). eISSN 1944-8120. ISSN 2161-8526.
  3. [3]
    Jerzy Proszynski: Cosmophasis
  4. [4]
    Nelson, Ximena .J; Jackson, Robert R.; Edwards, G.B.; Barrion, Alberto T. (2006). "Living with the enemy: jumping spiders that mimic weaver ants" (PDF). The Journal of Arachnology. 33 (3): 813–819. doi:10.1636/S04-12.1. S2CID 52000089.
  5. [5]
    Murphy, John; Murphy, Frances (1 January 2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. ISBN 978-9839681178.
  6. [6]
    Żabka, Marek; Waldock, Julianne (2012). "Salticidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from oriental, Australian and Pacific Regions. Genus Cosmophasis Simon, 1901" (PDF). Annales Zoologici. 62 (1): 115–198. doi:10.3161/000345412X633694. eISSN 1734-1833. ISSN 0003-4541. S2CID 84374906.
  7. [7]
    "Gen. Cosmophasis Simon, 1901". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2021-11-20.

Further reading

  • Allan, R.A. & Elgar, M.A. (2001): Exploitation of the green tree ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, by the salticid spider Cosmophasis bitaeniata. Australian Journal of Zoology 49: 129–137.
  • Allan, R.A., Capon, R.J., Brown, W.V. & Elgar, M.A. (2002): Mimicry of host cuticular hydrocarbons by salticid spider Cosmophasis bitaeniata that preys on larvae of tree ants Oecophylla smaragdina. Journal of Chemical Ecology 28: 835–848. doi:10.1023/A:1015249012493
  • Elgar, M.A. & Allan, R.A. (2006): Chemical mimicry of the ant Oecophylla smaragdina by the myrmecophilous spider Cosmophasis bitaeniata: Is it colony-specific? Journal of Ethology 24(3): 239-246. doi:10.1007/s10164-005-0188-9
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Cosmophasis, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.