examples of mimicry in animals

[animal-forgeries]

welcome to animal-forgeries! this blog is about interesting species from across the animal kingdom who show mimicry.

a mimic is an organism which in some way resembles something else. this can take many forms, such as appearance, sound, or scent! defensive mimics use this tactic to avoid predation, aggressive mimics avoid detection by their prey. mimics can either resemble another animal, or an object like a stick.

i aim to highlight more unusual forms of mimicry, although visual mimicry tends to be most striking.

i will not be posting mimicry in plants, fungi, etc! animals are my area of interest.

i'm very welcome to species suggestions, although this blog operates on a queue, so it might be some time before your suggestion is actually posted. i'll let you know when it's been added to the queue!

all main mimic posts will be tagged with #mimicposting

further tag navigation below ⬇️

aggressive mimic, defensive mimic, animal mimic, object mimic, vertebrate mimic, invertebrate mimic, visual mimic, non-visual mimic, not a mimic, ask, reblog

[crevicedwelling]

here's another ant-mimicking jumping spider that I encountered in Singapore: Myrmaplata plataleoides, the weaver ant mimic.

while females look a great deal like their ant models, males (like this one) have massive, exaggerated fangs used in territorial and mating displays, which complicate the disguise. however, ants routinely carry their dead away from the nest, so it's thought that a male M. plataleoides mimics a worker holding another ant—his jaws even have false "eyes" on the ends!

his mimicry was clearly good enough to fool the ants; none of them seemed to take notice even as he repeatedly doubled back to guard his territory instead of heading further up the tree. although mimicry like this is often sensationalized as something insidious or spooky, Myrmaplata has no intention to eat the ants. rather, the spider hides among them for protection: weavers won't eat nestmates, and other predators know that weaver ants bite, spray acid, and attack in hordes. running with the ants might be risky, but he's always alert, watching their every move with his big eyes. what a life that must be, always living on the margins of a colony of hunters that would devour him, yet also keep him alive without ever knowing it

[crevicedwelling]

here's some extra info about this species!

the male in this video doesn't actually have venom ducts in those huge chelicerae, and can't subdue his prey with venom like a female would. instead, he's got to just skewer things alive and work with that—that's sexual selection for ya (cited in below)

PDF | A core assumption of sexual selection theory is that sexually selected weapons, specialized morphological structures used directly in

also, some jumping spiders do eat ants, which means Myrmaplata here might be at risk. to get around this, when they recognize they're being stalked by another spider, Myrmaplata stretch their legs and display in a way no ant ever would, essentially saying "Hey, I'm a spider too!"

Abstract. Jumping spiders (Salticidae) usually avoid ants, but some species within this family single out ants as preferred prey, while othe

this is such a wonderful bit of evolutionary storytelling. sexual selection for huge venomless jaws, mimicry, even "compound" mimicry of an ant carrying her sister's corpse, and a way to drop the disguise when threatened... I wish I could be a Myrmaplata for a while, the things that these creatures must think about!

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: mimic poison frog, ranitomeya imitator

photo by john clare

the mimic poison frog, also known as the poison arrow frog or imitating poison frog, is notable for having many colour morphs that allow it to mimic multiple different species. the four different mimicking morphs are:

'varadero', which mimics the red-headed poison frog, ranitomeya fantastica

'striped', which mimics the lowland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

'spotted', which mimics the highland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

and 'banded', which mimics the summers' poison frog, ranitomeya summersi

the mimicry is used defensively, as this species, while toxic, is much less so than the species it mimics.

comparisons:

(comparisons created by me, images source here)

[herpsandbirds]

White-spotted Bug-eyed Frog aka Warty Tree Frog (Theloderma albopunctatum), family Rhacophoridae, Nam Nao National Park, Thailand

'bird poop' mimicry

photograph by Rushenb

[herpsandbirds]

Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator) - Banded morph, family Dendrobatidae, endemic to Peru

Poisonous.

This species has 4 color morphs, all of which mimic other poison frogs that live in those regions.

photograph by Cristian Torica

[herpsandbirds]

Blister Beetle Mimic Wood Roach (Melyroidea magnifica), family Polyphagidae, Peru and Ecuador

Claims have been made by researchers that this species is eusocial (at least partially, like honeybees, many ants, and termites), however this assertion is not accepted by many entomologists. The original researchers that posited eusociality in this communal species made many dubious assumptions.

This species obviously mimics blister beetles that can blast caustic chemicals at predators. The cockroach cannot, however.

photographs from: Anton Sorokin & Adrian Tejedor

[crevicedwelling]

what you need today is a video of Curculio nut weevil taking off from my hand

[crevicedwelling]

a winged adult should be the default assumption for all insects other than silverfish and jumping bristletails! with the exception of those two groups, all other insects are in the Pterygota (the winged insects)—wings are a defining feature of most living insects.

I suppose with beetles it might be a bit tricky to tell since their wings are “hidden”, but really you see wings anytime you look at a beetle: their first pair, the elytra, cover their abdomens. plenty of beetles got rid of the second wings beneath (including some weevils) and plenty of beetles only rarely fly, but still most of them are volant!

weevils in particular contain many groups that are extremely agile in the air, and the reason I’ve got no photos to show for the wonderful conoderine weevils I saw in Costa Rica was because they would disappear in an instant as soon as I raised my camera. many even mimic flies, which is thought to tell birds and reptiles “anything with red ‘eyes’ and a gray stripy body flies too fast to eat”!

a fabulous example from Brazil:

(PDF) Evasive mimicry: Too beetle, or not too beetle?

PDF | Mimics are the protagonists of evolutionary plays occurring in ecological theaters. In these Darwinian tragicomedies, predators, preys

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: mimic poison frog, ranitomeya imitator

photo by john clare

the mimic poison frog, also known as the poison arrow frog or imitating poison frog, is notable for having many colour morphs that allow it to mimic multiple different species. the four different mimicking morphs are:

'varadero', which mimics the red-headed poison frog, ranitomeya fantastica

'striped', which mimics the lowland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

'spotted', which mimics the highland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

and 'banded', which mimics the summers' poison frog, ranitomeya summersi

the mimicry is used defensively, as this species, while toxic, is much less so than the species it mimics.

comparisons:

(comparisons created by me, images source here)

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: mimic poison frog, ranitomeya imitator

photo by john clare

the mimic poison frog, also known as the poison arrow frog or imitating poison frog, is notable for having many colour morphs that allow it to mimic multiple different species. the four different mimicking morphs are:

'varadero', which mimics the red-headed poison frog, ranitomeya fantastica

'striped', which mimics the lowland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

'spotted', which mimics the highland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

and 'banded', which mimics the summers' poison frog, ranitomeya summersi

the mimicry is used defensively, as this species, while toxic, is much less so than the species it mimics.

comparisons:

(comparisons created by me, images source here)

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: mimic poison frog, ranitomeya imitator

photo by john clare

the mimic poison frog, also known as the poison arrow frog or imitating poison frog, is notable for having many colour morphs that allow it to mimic multiple different species. the four different mimicking morphs are:

'varadero', which mimics the red-headed poison frog, ranitomeya fantastica

'striped', which mimics the lowland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

'spotted', which mimics the highland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

and 'banded', which mimics the summers' poison frog, ranitomeya summersi

the mimicry is used defensively, as this species, while toxic, is much less so than the species it mimics.

comparisons:

(comparisons created by me, images source here)

[crevicedwelling]

Photuris consumes a Photinus. these two firefly genera aren’t closely related, but Photuris females mimic the blink pattern of Photinus females to lure in males of that genus, which they capture and eat to gain noxious protective chemicals that they can’t produce themselves.

[crevicedwelling]

I suppose that means Photuris exhibit 3 different types of mimicry! aggressive mimicry to lure Photinus prey, general red-yellow-black firefly Müllerian mimicry for the females who have toxins and Batesian mimicry for the males and females who don’t have them.

[dracula61]

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: zone-tailed hawk, buteo albonotatus

the zone-tailed hawk has been suggested to mimic turkey vultures, most obviously in their flight pattern: the hawks fly unusually with wings raised dihedrally, and will rock back and forth in a similar manner to turkey vultures. additionally, the silhouette and the shape of the flight feathers resemble a turkey vulture much more than other similar hawks. this is an example of aggressive mimicry, since turkey vultures rarely hunt animals, while the zone-tailed hawk is an active predator. its prey will be more likely to ignore the presence of the bird, believing it to be a harmless scavenger. the kettling behaviour of turkey vultures aids the zone-tailed hawk, as it can blend into large gatherings of vultures. although up close the two animals are very different, even experienced birders may have difficulty identifying a zone-tailed hawk from its deceitful silhouette and flight pattern.

model:

photo by roy lowe

flight pattern comparison:

[escuerzoresucitado]

some kind of Phasmatodea I guess...

[animal-forgeries]

this stick insect is mimicking a scorpion! cool video, a very good example of a mimic copying an animal's movements, although it doesn't resemble the model that much physically.

(not actually a creature from hell, the original poster must have been fooled by the defensive mimicry as the tail clearly has no sting!)

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: giant malaysian leaf insect, pulchriphyllium giganteum

photo by bernard dupont

the giant malaysian leaf insect is one of the largest members of the family Philliidae, a family of insects that are highly specialised in object mimicry--sometimes called mimesis--of leaves. this species is a particularly good example, almost exactly matching the model in many subtle ways, such as the flattened legs that resemble half-eaten leaves, the veins on the abdomen, and the brown patterns that match brown discolouration on damaged leaves. to add to the illusion, these insects will sway back and forth like leaves in the wind. even the eggs of the giant malaysian leaf insect show mimicry, as they resemble seeds! this is an example of defensive mimicry: by mimicking leaves and seeds, insectivorous predators are more likely to ignore them.

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: giant malaysian leaf insect, pulchriphyllium giganteum

photo by bernard dupont

the giant malaysian leaf insect is one of the largest members of the family Philliidae, a family of insects that are highly specialised in object mimicry--sometimes called mimesis--of leaves. this species is a particularly good example, almost exactly matching the model in many subtle ways, such as the flattened legs that resemble half-eaten leaves, the veins on the abdomen, and the brown patterns that match brown discolouration on damaged leaves. to add to the illusion, these insects will sway back and forth like leaves in the wind. even the eggs of the giant malaysian leaf insect show mimicry, as they resemble seeds! this is an example of defensive mimicry: by mimicking leaves and seeds, insectivorous predators are more likely to ignore them.

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: scarlet kingsnake, lampropeltis elapsoides

photo by peter paplanus

the scarlet kingsnake is a non-venomous snake found in the eastern US. it mimics certain coral snakes, such as the eastern coral snake, which have very similar red, black, and yellow/white bands. coral snakes are highly venomous, so by mimicking the distinctive colouration of these more dangerous snakes, the scarlet kingsnake is less likely to be predated upon. this is a commonly cited example of batesian mimicry, where a harmless organism mimics the danger signals of another organism that it shares a predator with.

model:

photo by jonathan mays