On ant-like Synemosyna Hentz, 1846 spiders from Bolivia, with indirect evidence for polymorphic mimicry complexes (Araneae: Salticidae: Simonellini)

Abstract

Three species of Synemosyna Hentz, 1846 were recorded during a survey in five Bolivian forest ecoregions: S. aurantiaca (Mello-Leitão, 1917), S. myrmeciaeformis (Taczanowski, 1871) and S. nicaraguaensis Cutler, 1993. Synemosyna aurantiaca and S. nicaraguaensis are recorded for Bolivia for the first time and the previously unknown male of S. nicaraguaensis is described and illustrated. The habitus and the genitalia of the female of S. myrmeciaeformis are illustrated for the first time. Synemosyna aurantiaca occurs in semi-deciduous forests south of 18° S and S. myrmeciaeformis in the Bolivian Yungas forest and ecoregions of the Amazon biome north of 16° S. Synemosyna nicaraguaensis is possibly an Andean species that enters into the moist Isthmian forests of Central America. Several potential mimicry complexes with two broad patterns were observed: sex-specific polychromatic mimicry (S. nicaraguaensis), and transformational mimicry involving smaller orange and larger brown to dark-brown forms (S. aurantiaca and S. myrmeciaeformis).

Two new ant-mimicking spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from Costa Rica

“…Ant-mimicking spiders are known to undergo transformational mimicry, i.e., mimic different ant species during postembryonic development that match the body size of the particular instar (Pekár et al 2020). In addition, several ant-mimicking species show mimetic polymorphism at adult stage (Nelson 2010;Pekár et al 2017;Perger et al 2021). We observed Myrmapana costaricaensis sp.…”

“…Presumably, all myrmecomorphic spider species undergo transformational mimicry, i.e., the imitation of different ant species during ontogenetic development (Pekár et al 2020), which makes the identification and matching of juvenile stages with adults difficult. Some species possess colour variations (forms) also in the adult stage due to their resemblance to different ant species, which further complicates correct determination to species (e.g., Nelson 2010;Pekár et al 2017;Perger et al 2021). In addition, due to frequent morphological sexual dimorphism, specifically the enlarged chelicerae in males of some salticid genera (e.g., Myrmarachne Macleay, 1839), the matching of sexes can be challenging.…”

A new species of the jumping spider Flurica Perger & Rubio, 2022 from Southwest Amazon forest (Araneae: Salticidae: Simonellini)

“…1). Other simonellines that have been reported from the area of Southwest Amazon forest but also occur in other Amazon forest types include Erica eugenia Peckham & Peckham, 1892, Synemosyna myrmeciaeformis (Taczanowski, 1871), and S. nicaraguensis Cutler, 1993 (Perger & Rubio 2022; Perger, Rubio & Haddad 2021). The simonellines Fluda dauca Perger & Rubio, 2023 and Sympolymnia shinahota Perger & Rubio, 2020 are exclusively known from the area of Southwest Amazon forest in Bolivia (Perger & Rubio 2020, 2023).…”

“…Morphological terms and description formats follow the recent studies on spiders of Simonellini (Perger & Rubio 2020; Perger, Rubio & Haddad 2021). Body length (BL) measurement refers to the distance from the anterior margin of the carapace to the posterior margin of the abdomen.…”

“…Despite the high potential of simonellines for mimicry research, several studies suggest that the fauna of various Neotropical forest regions is still poorly known (Perger & Rubio 2020; Perger, Rubio & Haddad 2021). Recent surveys of ant-mimicking spiders in Bolivia revealed five simonelline species that were hitherto unknown to science (Perger & Rubio 2020, 2022, 2023), representing 83% of the species of this tribe that were discovered since 2000.…”