Ero Felix

''Ero'' is a genus of pirate spiders 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 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 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 toxins. It quickly retreats as the prey spider becomes paralysed. When its prey is immobile, it feeds by sucking out the victim's body fluids.

Species

The World Spider Catalog lists these species:
* ''Ero aphana'' (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'' (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