Cosmophasis

Cosmophasis is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). They are predominantly Southeast Asian,^[2] while some species occur in Africa and Australia. Although most species more or less mimic ants, there are also colorful species^[3] that follow a different strategy.

Cosmophasis
Cosmophasis baehrae
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Salticidae
Subfamily:	Salticinae
Tribe:	Chrysillini
Genus:	Cosmophasis Simon, 1901
Type species
Plexippus thalassinus[1] C. L. Koch
Species
See text.

C. bitaeniata uses chemical mimicry to be accepted by the aggressive weaver ant species Oecophylla smaragdina.^[4]

One species, said to be not a particularly good ant mimic, was observed living near and preying on ants. According to (Murphy & Murphy, 2000), "to watch the spider stalking and killing its prey is an arachnological spectacular".^[5]

Description

Species in this genus are from 3.80 to 8.00 mm long. The cephalothoraxes are pear-shaped(for some males) or rectangular. ^[6]

Taxonomy

Cosmophasis sp. from the Philippines.

As of November 2021^[update], the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:^[7]

• Cosmophasis albipes Berland & Millot, 1941 – Guinea
• Cosmophasis albomaculata Schenkel, 1944 – Timor
• Cosmophasis ambonensis Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Ambon Island
• Cosmophasis arborea Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – Caroline Islands
• Cosmophasis baehrae Zabka & Waldock, 2012 - Australia
• Cosmophasis bandaneira Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Banda Islands
• Cosmophasis banika Żabka & Waldock, 2012 - Solomon Islands
• Cosmophasis bitaeniata (Keyserling, 1882) – New Guinea, Australia, Micronesia
• Cosmophasis chlorophthalma (Simon, 1898) – New Hebrides
• Cosmophasis chopardi Berland & Millot, 1941 – Ivory Coast
• Cosmophasis colemani Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Australia (Queensland)
• Cosmophasis courti Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis cypria (Thorell, 1890) – Java
• Cosmophasis darwini Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Australia (Northern Territory)
• Cosmophasis depilata Caporiacco, 1940 – Ethiopia
• Cosmophasis estrellaensis Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
• Cosmophasis fazanica Caporiacco, 1936 – Libya
• Cosmophasis gemmans (Thorell, 1890) – Sumatra
• Cosmophasis harveyi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis hortoni Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Solomon Is.
• Cosmophasis humphreysi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis kairiru Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis kohi Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis lami Berry, Beatty & Prószyński, 1997 – East Asia, South East Asia, Pacific islands
• Cosmophasis laticlavia (Thorell, 1892) – Sumatra
• Cosmophasis lucidiventris Simon, 1910 – Gabon
• Cosmophasis lungga Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Solomon Islands
• Cosmophasis maculiventris Strand, 1911 – Aru Islands
• Cosmophasis masarangi Merian, 1911 – Sulawesi
• Cosmophasis micans (L. Koch, 1880) – Queensland
• Cosmophasis micarioides (L. Koch, 1880) – New Guinea, Queensland, Solomon Islands
• Cosmophasis miniaceomicans (Simon, 1888) – Andaman Islands
• Cosmophasis modesta (L. Koch, 1880) – Queensland
• Cosmophasis monacha (Thorell, 1881) – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis motmot Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis obscura (Keyserling, 1882) – Queensland
• Cosmophasis olorina (Simon, 1901) – Sri Lanka
• Cosmophasis ombria (Thorell, 1877) – Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Krakatau)
• Cosmophasis orsimoides Strand, 1911 – Kei Islands
• Cosmophasis panjangensis Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
• Cosmophasis parangpilota Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
• Cosmophasis psittacina (Thorell, 1887) – Myanmar
• Cosmophasis pulchella Caporiacco, 1947 – Ethiopia
• Cosmophasis quadricincta (Simon, 1885) – Singapore
• Cosmophasis rakata Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
• Cosmophasis risbeci Berland, 1938 – New Hebrides
• Cosmophasis sertungensis Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – Indonesia (Krakatau)
• Cosmophasis squamata Kulczyński, 1910 – Solomon Islands, Seychelles
• Cosmophasis strandi Caporiacco, 1947 – East Africa
• Cosmophasis tavurvur Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis thalassina (C. L. Koch, 1846) – Malaysia to Australia
• Cosmophasis tricincta Simon, 1910 – Bioko
• Cosmophasis trioipina Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
• Cosmophasis tristriatus (L. Koch, 1880) – Palau Is.
• Cosmophasis trobriand Żabka & Waldock, 2012 – New Guinea
• Cosmophasis umbratica Simon, 1903 – India to Sumatra
• Cosmophasis valerieae Prószyński & Deeleman-Reinhold, 2010 – Indonesia (Java, Lesser Sunda Is.)
• Cosmophasis viridifasciata (Doleschall, 1859) – Sumatra to New Guinea
• Cosmophasis waeri Hurni-Cranston & Hill, 2020 - Banda Islands
• Cosmophasis weyersi (Simon, 1899) – Sumatra
• Cosmophasis xiaolonghaensis Cao & Li, 2016

In 2012, Marek Żabka and Julianne Waldock proposed 5 new species groups, it being the C.thalassina species group, C. bitaeniata species group, C. micarioides species group, C. tristriatus species group, and the C. rakata species group.^[6] Formerly placed in this genus include:^[7]

• Cosmophasis australis Simon, 1902 → Phintella australis
• Cosmophasis caerulea Simon, 1901 → Mexcala caerulea
• Cosmophasis fagei Lessert, 1925 → Icius fagei
• Cosmophasis nigrocyanea (Simon, 1885) → Mexcala nigrocyanea
• Cosmophasis quadrimaculata Lawrence, 1942 → Mexcala quadrimaculata
• Cosmophasis longiventris Simon, 1903 → Chrysilla lauta