Myrmarachne colombiana sp. n. (Araneae: Salticidae), a new species of ant-mimic spider in copal from Colombia, South America

Ant-mimicking spiders (Araneae: Salticide) are fascinating creatures that have evolved modified morphology and behaviours to resemble those of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ant-mimicking spiders are cosmopolitan but currently, there are no records of such spiders in fossilised resin, nor any records of extant ant- mimicking spiders in Colombia, S.A. The present study describes Myrmarachne colombiana sp. n. (Araneae: Salticidae) as the first species of ant-mimicking spider in fossilised resin (copal) from Colombia, discusses possible ages of copal inclusions around the world, and examines various scenarios showing why spiders have become ant mimics. The LSID for the paper is:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DA4E7993-C1B7-46DF-9863-47BD1DAA6686 And for the new species: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:849971BF-D641-41C7-AB67-7B01B6CBEE77