Pirate spider

Pirate spiders
Temporal range:
Female Ero aphana
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Mimetidae
Simon, 1881
Genera

See text.

Diversity
8 genera, 166 species

Pirate spiders, members of the family Mimetidae, are araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders.

The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which Mimetus and Ero are the most common. Mimetids are usually yellow and brown and are usually 3 to 7 millimetres (18 to 14 in) long. Mimetids can be recognized by the rows of spine-like hairs on their long front legs; the rows consist of a long spine, followed by a series of progressively shorter ones.