Phrynarachne ceylonica, the bird dung spider, is a species of spiders of the family Thomisidae. It is found in China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and India.[1] The species is known to discharge a foul smell which help it attract prey and deter predators.[2] It both smells like and resembles bird feces, hence the name 'bird dung spider'. The bird dung spider resembles bird feces only when it curls up in response to a predatory threat. It is characteristically known for its dual-purposed ability to mimic the smell and appearance of bird feces to both lure prey and protect against predators.[3] This species of crab spider has a flat, black-brown abdomen with bright yellow legs.[4] The width of the female abdomen is approximately 9.3 mm and the length of the body is approximately 14.5 mm.[4]
-
Male -
Female with eggsac
References
- ^ "Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ Agata, Blaszczak-Boxe (2 September 2015). "Zoologger: A spider that looks and smells like bird droppings". New Scientist. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ Yu, Long; Xu, Xin; Zhang, Zengtao; Painting, Christina J; Yang, Xiaodong; Li, Daiqin (2021). "Masquerading predators deceive prey by aggressively mimicking bird droppings in a crab spider". Current Zoology. 68 (3): 325–334. doi:10.1093/cz/zoab060. PMC 9113284. PMID 35592341.
- ^ a b Minakshi Dash; C. Sivaperuman (2021). "Notes on the presences of Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands". World News of Natural Sciences. 35: 48–55. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
You must be logged in to post a comment.