Treasure of the month

April 2017

Unique web spider

"Katissa kurusiki" - this is the name of a new species from the family of delicate spiders (Anyphaenidae) recently described in LIB.

The animal originates from the cloud forests of Ecuador and has a peculiar worm-shaped abdomen, with which the animals presumably imitate butterfly caterpillars to attract prey. The scientific name is taken from the indigenous Kichwa language: 'kuru' (worm) and 'siki' (abdomen). This is one of the rare cases of web spiders mimicking other animals to catch prey. The animal is the only one of its kind known so far and is deposited in the Arachnological Collections of LIB.

Photo: UHH/ CeNak