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27 August 2024 Riding on ants: A new report of this interesting behavior in Attacobius spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae)
G. Pompozzi, F. Fernández Campón
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Abstract

Ants are among the most ecologically dominant animals in several terrestrial ecosystems. Some myrmecophile species use ants to transport themselves, a behavior known as phoresy or phoresis. Although phoresis is commonly reported in arachnids such as pseudoscorpions or acari, it is very unusual among spiders. Phoresis on ants has only been reported in one genus of spiders, the sac-spider Attacobius Mello-Leitão, 1925 and for only two Brazilian species. In this report, we describe this amazing behavior in Attacobius nigripes (Mello-Leitão, 1942) for the first time in association with a new host, the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex lobicornis Emery, 1888. This record extends the geographic distribution of this spider species to the southwest of Argentina, from the Chaco into the Monte Desert region. We briefly describe the riding behavior of spiders and discuss the myrmecophile association between this species and A. lobicornis. More studies are needed to understand the evolutionary context of this association.

G. Pompozzi and F. Fernández Campón "Riding on ants: A new report of this interesting behavior in Attacobius spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae)," The Journal of Arachnology 52(2), 139-142, (27 August 2024). https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-24-003
Received: 16 February 2024; Accepted: 26 April 2024; Published: 27 August 2024
KEYWORDS
Acromyrmex lobicornis
Attacobius nigripes
hitch-hiking
leaf-cutting ants
myrmecophily
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