Australian Biological Resources Study

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Family MIMETIDAE Simon, 1881

Pirate Spiders


Compiler and date details

2011 - Helen Smith (update)

Valerie Todd Davies (including the Lycosidae by R.J. McKay), Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Introduction

These are robber or pirate spiders, 3-clawed spiders that enter the webs of other spiders to prey on them. All native Australian mimetid species were transferred to the genus Australomimetus by Harms and Harvey (2009a, b), thus removing the genus Mimetus from the Australian faunal list. The cosmopolitan genus Ero is represented in the region by a single, probably introduced, species.

 

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

MIMETIDAE: Mimetus Hentz, 1831

 

Diagnosis

Ecribellate 3-clawed araneioid spiders with legs extremely long, slender and prolateral tibiae and metatarsi I, II with a row of alternating short and long curved spines. They are characterised by a row of large curved spines interspersed with six to seven smaller spines along the prolateral margin of tibiae and metartarsi I and II; chelicerae long, slender, usually fused at the base; colulus present; and one trichobothrium on metatarsi, none on tarsi.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
15-Oct-2020 ARANEAE 15-Oct-2020 MODIFIED
15-Oct-2020 ARANEOMORPHAE 09-Sep-2020 MODIFIED
15-Oct-2020 ARANEOMORPHAE 15-Oct-2020 MODIFIED
15-Oct-2020 ARANEOMORPHAE 15-Oct-2020 MODIFIED Dr Federica Turco Jurgen Otto
15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2020 MODIFIED
15-Oct-2020 25-Jul-2011 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)