Keywords :
Ant-mimicking spiders
Salticidae
Myrmarachne
บทคัดย่อ :
Accurate morphological ant mimicry by Myrmarachne jumping spiders confers strong protective
benefits against predators. However, it has been hypothesized that the slender and constricted
ant-like appearance imposes costs on the hunting ability because their jumping power to capture
prey is obtained from hydraulic pressure in their bodies. This hypothesis remains to be sufficiently
investigated. We compared the jumping and prey-capture abilities of seven Myrmarachne species and
non-myrmecomorphic salticids collected from tropical forests in Malaysian Borneo and northeastern
Thailand. We found that the mimics had significantly reduced abilities compared with the non-mimics.
The analysis using geometric morphometric techniques revealed that the reduced abilities were
strongly associated with the morphological traits for ant mimicry and relatively lower abilities were
found in Myrmarachne species with a more narrowed form. These results support the hypothesis that
the jumping ability to capture prey is constrained by the morphological mimicry and provide a new
insight into understanding the evolutionary costs of accurate mimicry.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Hashimoto, Y., Endo, T., Yamasaki, T., Hyodo, F., & Itioka, T. (2020). Constraints on the jumping and prey-capture abilities of ant-mimicking spiders (Salticidae, Salticinae, Myrmarachne). Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-11.
