Taxon:
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
- Family: Mimetidae
- Genus: Ero
- Species: E. lawrencei
Female
Unknown.
Male
Around 5mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 7mm diagonally.
Cephalothorax:
Carapace oval, raised, orange, with dark cephalic region and fovea, dark border on margins. Sternum triangular, orangish with thin dark border and faint dark line centre. Chelicera dark reddish. Mouth parts dark reddish. Pedipalps yellow with dark bulbous tarsi.
Abdomen:
Abdomen long and thin with slight groove near posterior. Dorsal hairy, dark with thick yellowish band down centre from shoulders Venter yellow, plain. Spinnerets dark, middle of ventral abdomen.
Legs:
Yellow and banded at joints, tibia banded, covered in small fine spines which are more prominent on the tibia of first two leg pairs. 1, 2, 4, 3.
ABOUT THE GENUS
This family of spiders are specialised spider hunters, and often overlooked and not well studied in South Africa. Pirate spiders are often mistaken for Theridiidae or orb-weavers due to similar appearances. Their legs are covered in spines (prominent and tough hairs) and the teeth on their chelicera are thorn-like, making them equipped to handle dangerous prey like their fellow spiders. Unlike their prey, pirate spiders don’t go for the killing bite or use their web to immobilise, instead biting a leg with a good dose of venom that will paralyse the spider, and retreat and wait before they come near again.
Spiders in & around Orania 