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''Mimetus'' is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
pirate spider Pirate spiders, members of the family (biology), family Mimetidae, are Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders. The family (biology), family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genus, genera, ...
s in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide.


Description

Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders,
Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes ...
, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved bristle-like hairs. A distinguishing mark of the genus is that the distance between the
anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
edge of the
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
and the anterior medial eyes is about one-third to one-half of the distance between the anterior and posterior medial eyes. The length of the anterior legs is about 1.5-1.7 times that of the posterior pair.Spiders of Europe and Greenland
/ref>


Behaviour

Spiders in this genus are specialised spider killers. They spin no web but are slow moving, stalking or ambushing their prey. They sometimes invade the web of their potential victim, vibrating the silk to mislead the owner. An individual will attack a potential victim by biting one of its legs and injecting
toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...
s. It then retreats and the
prey Predation is a biological interaction where 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 kill the ...
spider quickly becomes paralysed. The attacker then advances and starts to feed, sucking out the body fluids of its victim.Spider enemies
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Species

The World Spider Catalog lists these species: * '' Mimetus aktius'' Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 — USA * '' Mimetus arushae'' Caporiacco, 1947 — Tanzania * '' Mimetus banksi'' Chickering, 1947 — Panama * '' Mimetus bifurcatus'' Reimoser, 1939 — Costa Rica * '' Mimetus bigibbosus'' O. P.-Cambridge, 1894 — Mexico, Panama * ''
Mimetus bishopi ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Caporiacco, 1949 — Kenya * '' Mimetus brasilianus'' Keyserling, 1886 — Brazil * ''
Mimetus caudatus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Wang, 1990 — China * '' Mimetus comorensis'' Schmidt & Krause, 1994 — Comoro Islands * ''
Mimetus cornutus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Lawrence, 1947 — South Africa * ''
Mimetus crudelis ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 — Guatemala * ''
Mimetus debilispinis ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Mello-Leitão, 1943 — Brazil * ''
Mimetus dimissus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Petrunkevitch, 1930 — Puerto Rico, Antigua * ''
Mimetus echinatus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Wang, 1990 — China * ''
Mimetus epeiroides ''Mimetus epeiroides'' is a species of pirate spider 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 di ...
'' Emerton, 1882 — USA * ''
Mimetus fernandi ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Lessert, 1930 — Congo * ''
Mimetus haynesi ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Gertsch & Mulaik, 1940 — USA * ''
Mimetus hesperus ''Mimetus hesperus'' is a species of pirate spider 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 divi ...
'' Chamberlin, 1923 — USA * ''
Mimetus hieroglyphicus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil, Paraguay * ''
Mimetus hirsutus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 — Mexico * ''
Mimetus hispaniolae ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Bryant, 1948 — Hispaniola * '' Mimetus indicus'' Simon, 1906 — India * '' Mimetus insidiator'' Thorell, 1899 — West Africa, São Tomé, Canary Islands * '' Mimetus keyserlingi'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Peru, Brazil * '' Mimetus labiatus'' Wang, 1990 — China * '' Mimetus laevigatus'' (Keyserling, 1863) — Mediterranean to Central Asia * '' Mimetus madacassus'' Emerit, 1996 — Madagascar * '' Mimetus margaritifer'' Simon, 1901 — Malaysia * '' Mimetus marjorieae'' Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 — Philippines * '' Mimetus melanoleucus'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil * '' Mimetus monticola'' (Blackwall, 1870) — Sicily, Syria, Egypt * '' Mimetus natalensis'' Lawrence, 1938 — South Africa * '' Mimetus nelsoni'' Archer, 1950 — USA * '' Mimetus notius'' Chamberlin, 1923 — USA * '' Mimetus penicillatus'' Mello-Leitão, 1929 — Brazil * '' Mimetus portoricensis'' Petrunkevitch, 1930 — Puerto Rico * '' Mimetus puritanus'' Chamberlin, 1923 — USA * '' Mimetus rapax'' O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 — Costa Rica, Panama * '' Mimetus ridens'' Brignoli, 1975 — Philippines * '' Mimetus rusticus'' Chickering, 1947 — Panama * ''
Mimetus ryukyus ''Mimetus'' is a genus of pirate spiders in the family Mimetidae. They are found worldwide. Description Members of this genus resemble the comb-footed spiders, Theridiidae, due to their globular abdomen. The upper side of this bears curved brist ...
'' Yoshida, 1993 — Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands * '' Mimetus saetosus'' Chickering, 1956 — Panama * '' Mimetus sinicus'' Song & Zhu, 1993 — China * '' Mimetus strinatii'' Brignoli, 1972 — Sri Lanka * '' Mimetus syllepsicus'' Hentz, 1832 — USA, Mexico * '' Mimetus syllepsicus molestus'' Chickering, 1937 — Mexico * '' Mimetus testaceus'' Yaginuma, 1960 — China, Korea, Japan * '' Mimetus tillandsiae'' Archer, 1941 — USA * '' Mimetus triangularis'' (Keyserling, 1879) — Peru, Brazil * '' Mimetus trituberculatus'' O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 — Panama * '' Mimetus tuberculatus'' Liang & Wang, 1991 — China * '' Mimetus variegatus'' Chickering, 1956 — Panama * '' Mimetus verecundus'' Chickering, 1947 — Panama * '' Mimetus vespillo'' Brignoli, 1980 — Sulawesi


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3314592 Mimetidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Asia Spiders of Africa Spiders of North America Spiders of South America