Cosmophasis

Cosmophasis is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Some species occur in Africa, while most are found in Southeast Asia, down to Australia. Although most species more or less mimic ants, there are also colorful species[1] that follow a different strategy.

Cosmophasis
Cosmophasis baehrae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Araneae
Family:
Salticidae
Genus:
Cosmophasis

Simon, 1901
Type species
Plexippus thalassinus
Species

see text

Diversity
45 species

C. bitaeniata uses chemical mimicry to be accepted by the aggressive weaver ant species Oecophylla smaragdina.[2]

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".[3]

Species
Cosmophasis sp. from the Philippines.
  • Cosmophasis albipes Berland & Millot, 1941 – Guinea
  • Cosmophasis albomaculata Schenkel, 1944 – Timor
  • Cosmophasis arborea Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – Caroline Islands
  • Cosmophasis australis Simon, 1902 – South Africa
  • Cosmophasis baehrae Zabka & Waldock, 2012 - Australia
  • Cosmophasis bitaeniata (Keyserling, 1882) – New Guinea, Australia, Micronesia
  • Cosmophasis caerulea Simon, 1901 – West Africa
  • Cosmophasis chlorophthalma (Simon, 1898) – New Hebrides
  • Cosmophasis chopardi Berland & Millot, 1941 – Ivory Coast
  • Cosmophasis cypria (Thorell, 1890) – Java
  • Cosmophasis depilata Caporiacco, 1940 – Ethiopia
  • Cosmophasis estrellaensis Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis fagei Lessert, 1925 – East Africa
  • Cosmophasis fazanica Caporiacco, 1936 – Libya
  • Cosmophasis gemmans (Thorell, 1890) – Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis lami Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – Fiji
  • Cosmophasis laticlavia (Thorell, 1892) – Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis longiventris Simon, 1903 – Vietnam
  • Cosmophasis lucidiventris Simon, 1910 – Gabon
  • Cosmophasis maculiventris Strand, 1911 – Aru Islands
  • Cosmophasis marxi (Thorell, 1890) – Sumatra, Java
  • 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 muralis Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – Caroline Islands
  • Cosmophasis nigrocyanea (Simon, 1885) – Egypt, Ethiopia
  • Cosmophasis obscura (Keyserling, 1882) – Queensland
  • Cosmophasis olorina (Simon, 1901) – Sri Lanka
  • Cosmophasis orsimoides Strand, 1911 – Kei Islands
  • Cosmophasis parangpilota Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis psittacina (Thorell, 1887) – Myanmar
  • Cosmophasis pulchella Caporiacco, 1947 – Ethiopia
  • Cosmophasis quadricincta (Simon, 1885) – Singapore
  • Cosmophasis quadrimaculata Lawrence, 1942 – South Africa
  • Cosmophasis risbeci Berland, 1938 – New Hebrides
  • Cosmophasis squamata Kulczyński, 1910 – Solomon Islands, Seychelles
  • Cosmophasis strandi Caporiacco, 1947 – East Africa
  • Cosmophasis thalassina (C. L. Koch, 1846) – Malaysia to Australia
  • Cosmophasis tricincta Simon, 1910 – Bioko
  • Cosmophasis trioipina Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Cosmophasis umbratica Simon, 1903 – India to Sumatra
  • Cosmophasis viridifasciata (Doleschall, 1859) – Sumatra to New Guinea
  • Cosmophasis weyersi (Simon, 1899) – Sumatra

Footnotes
  1. Jerzy Proszynski: Cosmophasis
  2. Nelson et al. 2006
  3. Murphy & Murphy 2000: 304

References
  • Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  • Nelson, X.J., Jackson, R.R., Edwards, G.B. & Barrion, A.T. (2006): Living with the enemy: jumping spiders that mimic weaver ants. The Journal of Arachnology 33: 813-819. PDF
  • Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 9.5. American Museum of Natural History.

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
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