Phrynarachne ceylonica

Phrynarachne ceylonica, the bird dung spider, is a species of spiders of the genus Phrynarachne. It is found in China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and India.[1] The species is known to discharge a foul smell which help it attract prey and deter predators.[2] It both smells like and resembles bird feces, hence the name 'bird dung spider'. The bird dung spider resembles bird feces only when it curls up in response to a predatory threat. It is characteristically known for its dual-purposed ability to mimic the smell and appearance of bird feces to both lure prey and protect against predators.[3] This species of crab spider has a flat, black-brown abdomen with bright yellow legs.[4] The width of the female abdomen is approximately 9.3 mm and the length of the body is approximately 14.50 mm[5]

  • Male
  • Female with eggsac

Bird dung spider
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Thomisidae
Genus: Phrynarachne
Species:
P. ceylonica
Binomial name
Phrynarachne ceylonica
(O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884)
Synonyms
  • Ornithoscatoides ceylonica O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884

References
  1. "Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. Agata, Blaszczak-Boxe (2 September 2015). "Zoologger: A spider that looks and smells like bird droppings". New Scientist. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. "Masquerading predators deceive prey by aggressively mimicking bird droppings in a crab spider". 2021. doi:10.1093/cz/zoab060. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. "Notes on the presences of Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands". World News of Natural Sciences. 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  5. "Notes on the presences of Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands". World News of Natural Sciences. 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.


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