Myrmecotypus is a genus of ant mimicking corinnid sac spiders first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1894. Species mainly occur from Panama to Mexico, with one species found in the United States, and one in Argentina.
M. rettenmeyeri, named after entomologist Carl Rettenmeyer, has an unusual longitudinal band of black hairs extending along the midline of the cephalothorax, enhancing its resemblance to Camponotus sericeiventris, an ant it shares a habitat with. The black hairs correspond to the solid longitudinal keel-like dorsal extensions of the posterior sections of the ant's thorax.
Species it contains fourteen species in North, Central, and South America: Myrmecotypus fuliginosus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1894 (type) – Mexico Myrmecotypus haddadi Perger & Rubio, 2021 – Bolivia Myrmecotypus iguazu Rubio & Arbino, 2009 – Bolivia, Argentina Myrmecotypus jasmineae Leister & Miller, 2014 – Nicaragua Myrmecotypus lineatipes Chickering, 1937 – Panama Myrmecotypus lineatus (Emerton, 1909) – USA Myrmecotypus niger Chickering, 1937 – Panama, Bolivia, Brazil Myrmecotypus olympus Reiskind, 1969 – Panama, Brazil Myrmecotypus orpheus Reiskind, 1969 – Panama Myrmecotypus pilosus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898) – Mexico, Panama Myrmecotypus rettenmeyeri Unzicker, 1965 – Panama Myrmecotypus rubioi Pett & Perger, 2021 – Bolivia Myrmecotypus rubrofemoratus Perger & Rubio, 2021 – Bolivia Myrmecotypus tahyinandu Perger & Rubio, 2020 – Bolivia
References
External links
Myrmecotypus at BugGuide Pictures of M. lineatus