spiny, long-legged, and armored, Polyrhachis ants are a common sight in Singapore as they forage for their colonies in a perpetual breakneck sprint. but this creature is no Polyrhachis: this is a jumping spider that looks and moves exactly like one!
he is Toxeus maxillosus*, one of the finest ant mimics Iβve seen.
an elongated first set of legs mime questing antennae while the rest are perfectly sized to match Polyrhachisβ gait. his enlarged chelicerae appear like an antβs head, and the illusion is completed by pedipalps slung beneath like ant mandibles.
unfortunately I didnβt get a good still photo of the red-rumped Polyrhachis armata that he mimicked. however, a neighboring shrub housed another T. maxillosus who sported a shiny coat of gold hair in the style of Polyrhachis illaudata, a worker of which was also sitting there. side-by side, the mimicry is simply exquisite.
*at least, I think the black and red form is also considered T. maxillosus. the gold-haired form seems to be the most commonly observed type.
