''Ero'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

pirate spider Pirate spiders, members of the family Mimetidae, are araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders. The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which ''Mimetus'' and '' Ero'' are the most common. Mi ...

s first described in 1836. They resemble comb-footed spiders due to their globular abdomen, which is higher than it is long.

Description

The upper side of their abdomen bears one or two pairs of conical

tubercles In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, b ...

and some curved bristle-like hairs. The anterior medial eyes project on small tubercles. Leg 1 is nearly twice as long as leg 4. Their egg sacs are uniquely shaped elongated globes, about four millimetres in diameter. They are suspended from vegetation on a silken thread, and are made from an inner layer of yellowish brown

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and an outer layer of dark coloured, loosely woven silk, giving it a "woolly" appearance. The sacs are not guarded by the female, so when the juveniles hatch, they have to fend for themselves. Since Ero species are nocturnal, the adults are not often seen and the egg sacks often reveal their presence before specimens are found.

Feeding behaviour

Spiders in this genus are specialised spider killers. They attack potential victims by biting one of its legs and injecting

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...

s. It quickly retreats as the

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

spider becomes

paralysed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

. When its prey is immobile, it feeds by sucking out the victim's body fluids.

Species

The

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

lists these species: * ''

Ero aphana ''Ero aphana'' is a species of pirate spider in the family Pirate spider, Mimetidae. It is a hunting spider and feeds on other spiders. Distribution This spider has a palearctic distribution and is found in Western Europe, most commonly in Belgi ...

'' (Walckenaer, 1802) — Palearctic (St. Helena, Queensland, Western Australia, introduced) * '' Ero cachinnans'' Brignoli, 1978 — Bhutan * '' Ero cambridgei'' Kulczyński, 1911 — Palearctic * '' Ero canala'' Wang, 1990 — China * '' Ero canionis'' Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 — USA * '' Ero capensis'' Simon, 1895 — South Africa * '' Ero catharinae'' Keyserling, 1886 — Brazil * '' Ero comorensis'' Emerit, 1996 — Comoro Islands, Seychelles * '' Ero eburnea'' Thaler, 2004 — Ivory Coast * '' Ero felix'' Thaler & van Harten, 2004 — Yemen * '' Ero flammeola'' Simon, 1881 — Portugal to Corfu, Canary Islands * ''

Ero furcata ''Ero furcata'' is a pirate spider species with Palearctic distribution, being native from the Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Made ...

'' (Villers, 1789) — Palearctic * '' Ero furuncula'' Simon, 1909 — Vietnam * '' Ero galea'' Wang, 1990 — China * '' Ero ganglia'' Yin & Bao, 2012 — China * '' Ero gemelosi'' Baert & Maelfait, 1984 — Galapagos Islands * '' Ero goeldii'' Keyserling, 1891 — Brazil * '' Ero gracilis'' Keyserling, 1891 — Brazil * '' Ero humilithorax'' Keyserling, 1886 — Brazil * '' Ero japonica'' Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 — Russia, China, Korea, Japan * '' Ero jiafui'' Yin & Bao, 2012 — China * '' Ero juhuaensis'' Xu, Wang & Wang, 1987 — China * '' Ero kompirensis'' Strand, 1918 — Japan * '' Ero laeta'' Barrientos, 2017 — Portugal, Spain * '' Ero lata'' Keyserling, 1891 — Brazil * '' Ero lawrencei'' Unzicker, 1966 — South Africa * '' Ero leonina'' (Hentz, 1850) — USA * '' Ero lodingi'' Archer, 1941 — USA * '' Ero lokobeana'' Emerit, 1996 — Madagascar * '' Ero madagascariensis'' Emerit, 1996 — Madagascar * '' Ero melanostoma'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil * '' Ero pensacolae'' Ivie & Barrows, 1935 — USA * '' Ero quadrituberculata'' Kulczynski, 1905 — Madeira * '' Ero salittana'' Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 — Philippines * '' Ero spinifrons'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil * '' Ero spinipes'' (Nicolet, 1849) — Chile, Argentina * '' Ero tenebrosa'' Lissner, 2018 — Canary Islands * '' Ero tuberculata'' (De Geer, 1778) — Palearctic * '' Ero valida'' Keyserling, 1891 — Brazil

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13604588 Mimetidae Araneomorphae genera Cosmopolitan spiders