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Alexander Dudley | all galleries >> Australian Invertebrates >> Australian Spiders >> Jumping Spiders, Salticidae > Ant-mimicking spider, Salticidae
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27-AUG-2004 Alexander Dudley

Ant-mimicking spider, Salticidae

Hawk Dreaming, Kakadu, Australia

I was admiring a rock painting in a shelter in Kakadu when I saw a peculiar looking "ant". Closer inspection showed it
to be an ant-mimic, but due to its small size, its speed and the fact that it was active on a priceless painting that I couldn't
touch, it proved to be a difficult photographic subject. It suddenly stopped and looked up at me and I managed to snap
off the only sharp picture of ten.

There are a number of species of ant-mimicking spiders, which mimic a variety of ant species through a combination of
body shape, colouration and movement. Movement often involves walking on six legs instead of eight and waving the
front pair of legs as if they were antennae.

FujiFilm FinePix S2 Pro ,Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro
1/125s f/27.0 at 59.0mm iso100; Metz 20 BC6, Starblitz 160-slave. full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Larena Woodmore03-Sep-2005 12:22
Nice photo. Aren't these spiders amazing? It's hard to capture in a photo just how much like ants they are. I have a photo of a different one athttp://www.pbase.com/larena/image/43197543