Bagheera kiplingi
Encyclopedia
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 one other species, 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 black panther
from Rudyard Kipling
's 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.
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.
trees, Vachellia
in particular, where they consume 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 ant
s. The spiders actively avoid the ants who 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 larva
e from passing worker ants for food. Sometimes they'll cannibalize
other B. kiplingi, especially during the dry season
.
Despite the occasional consumption of meat, the spiders' tissues have been found to exhibit isotopic signature
s typical of herbivorous animals, implying that most of their food comes from plants.
While they feed almost exclusively on an herbivorous diet in Mexico
where they inhabit more than half of Acacia collinsii
trees, populations in Costa Rica
, where less than 5% of Acacia are populated by B. kiplingi, do so to a lesser extent. Although this species is mostly territorial and forages solitarily, populations of several hundred specimens have been found on individual acacias in Mexico, with more than twice as many females than males. B. kiplingi appears to breed throughout the year. Observations of adult females guarding hatchling
s and clutches
suggest that the species is quasisocial
.
Jumping spider
The jumping spider family contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among invertebrates and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation...
found in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
including Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. It is the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of the genus Bagheera, which includes one other species, B. prosper. B. kiplingi is notable for its peculiar diet, which, uniquely for a spider, is mostly herbivorous
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
. No other known spider has such a thoroughly herbivorous diet.
Name
The genus name is derived from BagheeraBagheera
Bagheera the black-toned Indian Leopard is an animal fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book...
, the black panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
from Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's Jungle Book
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
, with the species name honoring Kipling himself. Other salticid genera with names of Kipling's characters are Akela, Messua and Nagaina
Nagaina
Nagaina is a spider genus of the Salticidae family .-Name:The genus name is derived from Nagaina, a character from Rudyard Kipling's story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi...
. All four were named by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1896.
Description
Bagheera kiplingi is a colorful, sexually dimorphicSexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
species. The male has amber legs, a dark cephalothorax
Cephalothorax
The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head and thorax...
that is greenish in the upper region near the front, and a slender reddish abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
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.
Diet
B. kiplingi inhabit AcaciaAcacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
trees, Vachellia
Vachellia
Vachellia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus Acacia until 2005....
in particular, where they consume specialized protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
- and fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
-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 ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s. The spiders actively avoid the ants who 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 larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e from passing worker ants for food. Sometimes they'll cannibalize
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
other B. kiplingi, especially during the dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
.
Despite the occasional consumption of meat, the spiders' tissues have been found to exhibit isotopic signature
Isotopic signature
An isotopic signature is a ratio of stable or unstable isotopes of particular elements found in an investigated material...
s typical of herbivorous animals, implying that most of their food comes from plants.
While they feed almost exclusively on an herbivorous diet in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where they inhabit more than half of Acacia collinsii
Acacia collinsii
Acacia collinsii is a species of flowering plant. It grows in secondary succession in seasonally dry ecosystems in southern Central America, where it exhibits a symbiotic relationship with several species of ant...
trees, populations in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, where less than 5% of Acacia are populated by B. kiplingi, do so to a lesser extent. Although this species is mostly territorial and forages solitarily, populations of several hundred specimens have been found on individual acacias in Mexico, with more than twice as many females than males. B. kiplingi appears to breed throughout the year. Observations of adult females guarding hatchling
Hatchling
In oviparous biology, a hatchling is the newborn of animals that develop and emerge from within hard-shell eggs. The offspring of birds are often hatched naked and with their eyes closed. The hatchling relies totally on its parents for feeding and warmth. Hatchlings precede nestlings in the chick's...
s and clutches
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
suggest that the species is quasisocial
Presociality
Presociality is a phenomenon in which animals exhibit more than just sexual interactions with members of the same species, but fall short of qualifying as eusocial...
.
External links
, Jerzy (2001). Bagheera kiplingi. Salticidae: Diagnostic Drawings Library. Includes links to color photos and drawings.- 'Veggie' spider shuns meat diet BBC News (video of the spider)
- http://www98.homepage.villanova.edu/robert.curry/Documents/RLCpubs/Meehan.2009.pdf Meehan et al. Herbivory in a spider through exploitation of ant-plant mutualism