''Castianeira'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of ant-like corinnid sac spiders first described by

Eugen von Keyserling Eugen von Keyserling (22 March 1833 in Pockroy, Lithuania – 4 April 1889 in Dzierżoniów, Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and G ...

in 1879. They are found in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and the Americas, but are absent from Australia. Twenty-six species are native to North America, and at least twice as many are native to Mexico and Central America.

Description

Spiders of this genus have eight eyes in two procurved rows, the upper row slightly wider than the lower row. This distinguishes them from species of '' Micaria'' that almost always have straight rows of eyes. The

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

is not constricted, and has an elongate to oval shape to mimic that of ants. In addition to the ant-like coloration, the abdomen has white scale-like

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

. The rear pair of legs are the longest, and the front pair are second longest.

Mimicry

Some species mimic specific groups of ants, while others only have generic body modifications to look more ant-like, such as an elongated body or a carapace pattern that creates the illusion of a third body segment. Some mimic ant behavior as well, waving their front two legs as if they were antennae or bobbing their abdomen to look more ant-like. Certain species found in Texas mimic

fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...

s to prey on them, while some species use

Batesian mimicry Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on bu ...

, appearing like velvet ants to take advantage of their

aposematism Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, suc ...

in order to deter predators.

Ant mimicry

Known ant-spider mimicry: *''C. cingulata'' – short carpenter ants *''C. longipalpus'' – myrmicine or ponerine ants *''C. memnonia'' – ''

Pachycondyla ''Pachycondyla'' is a Ponerinae, ponerine genus of ants found in the Neotropics. Distribution ''Pachycondyla'' is currently distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina, but some fossil species (e.g. ''Pachycondyla eocenica, P. ...

obscuricornis'' Emery *''C. rica'' – ''

Atta Atta or ATTA may refer to: * Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur * ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae * ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy * Atta flour, whole wheat flour made ...

'' sp, '' Odontomachus'' sp, and others *''C. trilineata'' – reddish carpenter ants ( Latreille)

Species

it contains 127 species:

Description

Mimicry

Ant mimicry

Species

References

Further reading