''Ero aphana'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

in the family

Mimetidae 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 ...

. It is a hunting spider and feeds on other spiders.

Distribution

This spider has a

palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

distribution and is found in Western Europe, most commonly in Belgium, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. It is recorded in the fauna list of Parley Common, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, England. It has been introduced into

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

.Global Biodiversity Information Facility
/ref>

Description

''Ero aphana'' grows to about three millimetres long, the females being slightly larger than the males. The

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

is dark coloured with radiating pale markings in the posterior half and a larger, irregular pale blotch in the anterior half. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

is broad and globular, light grey with darker brownish grey patches, craggy tubercles and sparse hairs growing out of orange spots. The legs are hairy and pale coloured with dark bands and one thin orange band. The front two pairs of legs bear a marginal row of long, curved spines.

Habitat

At the northern limit of its distribution, this species is usually found on heather and other low vegetation in

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

lands. This is the case in England where the species seems to be on the increase and is found on dry heathland with patches of bare stony ground and among sparse ''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves ...

'' and ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native plant, native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly s ...

''. In warmer parts of Europe it occupies more diverse habitats including the edges of coniferous forests, trees and bushes and also parks and gardens.

Feeding behaviour

''Ero aphana'' is a specialised spider killer. It attacks another spider 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 so that it does not get bitten itself and waits at a safe distance. 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 ...

soon becomes paralyzed and the attacker can start to feed safely and suck out the body fluids of the victim.Spider enemies
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q144202 Mimetidae Spiders of Europe Palearctic spiders Spiders described in 1802