Both sexes of this species are peculiar in displaying bushes of hair on the first pair of legs, which it holds together in front of its real head. Thus, the front legs appear like an ant head with long antenna, while the spider's cephalothorax mimics the ant's thorax.
The male has a body length of c. 6 mm. Its carapace is dark brown and covered with rows of white feathery hair.
The species is named after Narong Mahannop, who joined the original describer when collecting it. The genus name derives from Pranburi Province, where the first male was collected in 1990.
Ant mimicry
When alarmed, P. mahannopi of both sexes join the femora of its first pair of legs together in front, and hold them slightly above its head, mimicking an ant's head. At the same time, they wave the tibiae and metatarsi in the air, mimicking ant antennae.
Its main mimic model seems to be Diacamma, a queenless ant genus belonging to the subfamily Ponerinae.
{{multiple image
| align = center
| total_width = 480
| image1 = Spider-characteristics.png
| alt1 = Spider body plan
| height1 = 200
| caption1 = A spider's body is divided into two segments: the cephalothorax (2) and the abdomen (3).
| image2 = Scheme ant worker anatomy-en.svg
| alt2 = Ant body plan
| height2 = 200
| caption2 = An ant's body has three distinct segments: head, mesosoma (alitrunk) and metasoma (gaster).
| image3 = CharlesLam - Diacamma rugosum.jpg
| alt3 = Diacamma rugosum
| height3 = 200
| caption3 = Diacamma, P. mahannopis likely model
| footer_align = center
| footer = Differences in body plan between spiders and ants.
}}Taxonomy
Pranburia mahannopi was placed into subfamily Castianeirinae by its original describer, Christa L. Deeleman-Reinhold. It is the only known species in its family using its femurs to mimic an ant's head.
References