Bagheera kiplingi
| Bagheera kiplingi | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Dendryphantinae |
| Genus: | Bagheera |
| Species: | B. kiplingi |
| Binomial name | |
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Bagheera kiplingi Peckham & Peckham, 1896 |
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Bagheera kiplingi is a species of jumping spider found in Central America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. It is the type species of the genus Bagheera, which includes three other species, including B. prosper.B. kiplingi is notable for its peculiar diet, which, uniquely for a spider, is mostly herbivorous. No other known spider has such a thoroughly herbivorous diet.
The genus name is derived from Bagheera, the black panther from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, with the species name honoring Kipling himself. Other salticid genera with names of Kipling's characters are Akela, Messua, and Nagaina. All four were named by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1896.
B. kiplingi is a colorful, sexually dimorphic species. The male has amber legs, a dark cephalothorax that is greenish in the upper region near the front, and a slender reddish abdomen with green transversal lines. The female's amber front legs are sturdier than the other, slender legs, which are light yellow. It has a reddish-brown cephalothorax with the top region near the front black. The female's rather large abdomen is light brown with dark brown and greenish markings.
Only the male was described in 1896; the female was first described 100 years later by Wayne Maddison.
B. kiplingi inhabits Mimosaceae trees, Vachellia in particular, where it consumes specialized protein- and fat-rich nubs called Beltian bodies. The nubs form at the leaf tips of the acacia as part of a symbiotic relationship with certain species of ants. The spiders actively avoid the ants that attempt to guard the Beltian bodies (their food source) against intruders. Although the Beltian bodies account for over 90% of B. kiplingi diet, the spiders also consume nectar and occasionally steal ant larvae from passing worker ants for food. Sometimes, they cannibalize conspecifics, especially during the dry season.
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Wikipedia