The Great Imitation Game of Arthropods: Diversity of Terrestrial Arthropods Exhibiting Mimicry From Hazaribag Plateau Region

Arthropods have co-evolved adaptive traits like mimicry due to their co-existence in shared habitats with different species over millions of years. These imitations, which can be morphological, chemical signatures, or behavioural patterns, have fascinated biologists for centuries. The Chotanagpur (or Chhotanagpur) Plateau, characterized by its ancient origins and extensive forest cover, has a rich biodiversity, but a significant portion of this biodiversity remains unrecorded or inadequately documented. Hazaribag (or Hazaribagh) Plateau region being one of the densely forested regions of Chotanapur Plateau presents unlimited opportunities to study biodiversity and natural history of arthropods. A review of literature found that most published works from Chotanagpur Plateau focus on recording and cataloguing insect species, with some studies focusing on diversity of specific taxa. Large scale studies integrating diversity and behavioural traits like mimicry in arthropods is altogether missing. The present work is one of its kind. It provides an overview of mimicry among terrestrial arthropods in the Hazaribag Plateau region, highlighting the arthropod diversity, geography and uniqueness of the region. The Hazaribag Plateau region has high biodiversity, leading to ecological interactions and an evolutionary arms race. Present study shows that mimics are widespread in nature.