It’s lucky for them ants can’t count. “…seven, eight legs?? Wait a minute!”
Spidey Senses
Submitted 2 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/98c6bd93-578f-4328-b622-2c41d45b605b.jpeg
Comments
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Fleur_@aussie.zone 2 months ago
The skinwalkers are among us
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
imagine if a species of lemur evolved to broadly look like us, but still with lemur faces and stuff
that’s basically what’s happening for ants, terrifying
tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
I don’t think ants see very well, so it’d prob be more like lemurs that look exactly like us, but smell like ozone and old grease.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 months ago
Bottom left is definitely a spider. I count 8 legs and can see the distinct segmentation of a spider body. Though, really, just dat fat ass gives it away.
Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
… arent they all spiders?
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I think so, too. They all seem to have eight legs, more than two eyes, which don’t look like compound eyes, a cephalothorax/two body segments rather than three, a lack of antennae, etc. It would probably be easier to tell looking at them head-on so we could see their chelicerae.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 months ago
They are all spiders, but if it hadn’t said they were all spiders I could have still just looked at that guy and went “wait a minute…” He looks the least ant-like.
Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
I saw in a documental a snake which fools ants, but not to eat these, but to use these as bait for fooling lizards, which are the real prey for the snake.
- The snake buried itself in the sand, leaving only the tail point, imitating a tan of grass
- This attracts the ant
- This in turn attracts the lizard who wants to eat the ant
- End of the lizard
Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
Evolution to spiders: We’ve decided to combine your head and thorax.
Some jumping spiders: Nah
Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Lmao, giraffe spiders!
friendly_ghost@beehaw.org 2 months ago
Imagine trying to hide an entire pair of legs when you’re hanging out with ants
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
“ohoho no! these aren’t legs, they’re pedipalps! mmm, pedipalps to help me eat!”
I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 2 months ago
What big pedipalps you have, great aunt!
SculptusPoe@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Are ants so visual? I guess so, or there wouldn’t be enough advantage for these guys to develop. I thought they went purely by sensing pheromones.
SGforce@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Maybe it isn’t just fooling ants?
Don’t know the advantage to fooling everything else but they are convincing. Worked in a warehouse that had a bunch of the red ones one summer. Everybody thought there was an ant problem but they seemed off to me. Firstly, they were never in groups, you’d only find lone ones wandering. Secondly, they walked like ants but held their “antennae” strangely. Lastly, when knocking one off a box I discovered they have a tether thread.
Gullible@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Ants are rarely visual, but I’m also struggling to figure out which predator this is meant to dissuade.
rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
I could be violet sky
zqwzzle@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
The crab of the insect world?
SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net 2 months ago
Arthropods, man. They have two ideals and everything goes toward them.
UberKitten@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
impossible arthropod beauty standards need to be stopped!
propter_hog@hexbear.net 2 months ago
So in addition to crabification, we also have antification. Evolution really just found an energy minima at eight legs, huh?
fox@hexbear.net 2 months ago
It’s more that the lobster plan (long body) is really quite good in many niches, but the crab plan (wide body, no exposed tail) works better in more productive ecosystems that have more predators. So anything lobster shaped coming up from the deep mud will have to reduce its tail or get sniped by a fish
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
so wait are we just walking terrestrial lobsters? and… gorillas are primate crabs maybe?
Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Carcinisation is a bit more of an adaption to environment (convergent evolution into same-ish shape for the chance utility of it) vs niche mimicry which is in relation to another specific species.
Ephera@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
Proper ants only have 6 legs, though. But yeah, these spiders-turned-to-ants would have 8 legs.
Well, and crabs technically have 10 legs, with their foremost pair typically equipped with pincers. 🙃
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
i’m sure there’s at least one ant-mimicking spider that has turned their front legs into extra quasi-pedipalps to blend in better, getting rid of limbs is super easy in evolution (that’s where antennae and the existing pedipalps come from, and spinnerets too i presume)
Eyedust@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
My ADHD brain counting all the legs on these mfers for the past five minutes…
cholesterol@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I could be an ant.
Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Great info >!(but I’m always sad to see dead spiders)!<.
supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
Plot Twist All actual ant species are derived from antcestor that was simply mimicking another species, and so thus all ants are total frauds.
Good thing I don’t come from an evolutionary branch like that!
TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 2 months ago
No, I’m not ant.
TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 2 months ago
jqubed@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Spider-Ant
Spider-Ant
Does whatever a spider can
Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Except jump Cause it would be sus
Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Among ants be like Image
iAvicenna@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Can he jump from a branch? No he can’t, he not sus Look out, he is a Spider-Ant!
ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
Strange, she can't fall from a branch either. Whenever she does, she always seems to catch herself with spider web...
moistclump@lemmy.world 2 months ago
whatever a spider c’ant
supamanc@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Ant-spider, surely?