''Ero aphana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

pirate spider Pirate spiders, members of the family (biology), family Mimetidae, are Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders. The family (biology), family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genus, genera, ...

in the family

Mimetidae Pirate spiders, members of the family Mimetidae, are araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders. The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which '' Mimetus'' and ''Ero'' are the most common. Mi ...

. It is a hunting spider and feeds on other spiders.

Distribution

This spider has a

palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

distribution and is found in Western Europe, most commonly in Belgium, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. It is recorded in the fauna list of

Parley Common Parley Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the edge of Ferndown in Dorset, England. The majority land owner is the Canford Magna, Canford Estate, but among the other owners are the Diocese of Salisbury, Dorset County Council ...

, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, England. It has been introduced into

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

.Global Biodiversity Information Facility
/ref>

Description

''Ero aphana'' grows to about three millimetres long, the females being slightly larger than the males. The

sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...

is dark coloured with radiating pale markings in the posterior half and a larger, irregular pale blotch in the anterior half. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is broad and globular, light grey with darker brownish grey patches, craggy tubercles and sparse hairs growing out of orange spots. The legs are hairy and pale coloured with dark bands and one thin orange band. The front two pairs of legs bear a marginal row of long, curved spines.

Habitat

At the northern limit of its distribution, this species is usually found on heather and other low vegetation in

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

lands. This is the case in England where the species seems to be on the increase and is found on dry heathland with patches of bare stony ground and among sparse ''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are g ...

'' and ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

''. In warmer parts of Europe it occupies more diverse habitats including the edges of coniferous forests, trees and bushes and also parks and gardens.

Feeding behaviour

''Ero aphana'' is a specialised spider killer. It attacks another spider by biting one of its legs and injecting

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...

s. It quickly retreats so that it does not get bitten itself and waits at a safe distance. The

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

soon becomes paralyzed and the attacker can start to feed safely and suck out the body fluids of the victim.Spider enemies
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q144202 Mimetidae Spiders of Europe Palearctic spiders Spiders described in 1802