Jun 24, 2021 11:19 PM
(This post was last modified: Jun 25, 2021 01:28 AM by C C.)
Spiders eat snakes around the world, surprising study reveals (excerpts): Could a spider kill and eat a snake? The question might sound like a schoolyard hypothetical, but it’s the topic of a new study published in the Journal of Arachnology. The answer is a resounding yes—so much so that even the scientists who conducted the study were stunned by their results.
“I was surprised that snake-eating by spiders can be found on all continents (except Antarctica),” says study leader Martin Nyffeler, a spider expert at the University of Basel in Switzerland. “I was surprised that so many different spider groups are capable of killing and eating snakes. I was surprised that so many different snake species are occasionally killed by spiders.”
“All of this was unknown before,” says Nyffeler in an email. [...] “All spiders of the world combined would weigh an estimated 25 million tons, and they would kill about 400 to 800 million tons of prey per year,” he says. “To fully understand the spiders’ important role in the balance of nature it is crucial to understand the entire spectrum of their feeding habits.” (MORE - details)
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These spiders take down snakes hundreds of times their size (excerpts): Snacking on snakes was remarkably widespread, with more than 30 spider species engaging in the practice in natural conditions, and another 11 taking the opportunity in captivity [...] Widow spiders were the most frequent spider-killers, responsible for about half of the snake deaths; this group includes the infamous hourglass-marked black widows (Latrodectus mactans, L. Hesperus, L. variolus) as well as relatives like the African button spider (L. indistinctus). These spiders are small, 0.4 inches (1.1 centimeters) in size at most, and they typically target small, young snakes, but their venom is deadly enough to kill much larger animals.
Members of the tarantula family were responsible for another 10% of snake kills. These larger spiders do not build webs, but hunt prey actively on the ground or in trees. Another 8.5% of predation incidents were carried out by large orb-weaver spiders, which are also known to catch and eat bats and birds. These spiders weave large and very strong circular webs. Once the spiders kill the snakes, they suck out their innards just as they would an insect.
Reports of spiders eating snakes came from every continent except Antarctica, though half of the events reported occurred in the United States and almost a third occurred in Australia... (MORE - details)
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DUv3SuJ8-f4
“I was surprised that snake-eating by spiders can be found on all continents (except Antarctica),” says study leader Martin Nyffeler, a spider expert at the University of Basel in Switzerland. “I was surprised that so many different spider groups are capable of killing and eating snakes. I was surprised that so many different snake species are occasionally killed by spiders.”
“All of this was unknown before,” says Nyffeler in an email. [...] “All spiders of the world combined would weigh an estimated 25 million tons, and they would kill about 400 to 800 million tons of prey per year,” he says. “To fully understand the spiders’ important role in the balance of nature it is crucial to understand the entire spectrum of their feeding habits.” (MORE - details)
- - - - - -
These spiders take down snakes hundreds of times their size (excerpts): Snacking on snakes was remarkably widespread, with more than 30 spider species engaging in the practice in natural conditions, and another 11 taking the opportunity in captivity [...] Widow spiders were the most frequent spider-killers, responsible for about half of the snake deaths; this group includes the infamous hourglass-marked black widows (Latrodectus mactans, L. Hesperus, L. variolus) as well as relatives like the African button spider (L. indistinctus). These spiders are small, 0.4 inches (1.1 centimeters) in size at most, and they typically target small, young snakes, but their venom is deadly enough to kill much larger animals.
Members of the tarantula family were responsible for another 10% of snake kills. These larger spiders do not build webs, but hunt prey actively on the ground or in trees. Another 8.5% of predation incidents were carried out by large orb-weaver spiders, which are also known to catch and eat bats and birds. These spiders weave large and very strong circular webs. Once the spiders kill the snakes, they suck out their innards just as they would an insect.
Reports of spiders eating snakes came from every continent except Antarctica, though half of the events reported occurred in the United States and almost a third occurred in Australia... (MORE - details)
