Small, but powerful: Some jumping spiders can gain the upper hand and make their predators colder, bloodier, according to scientists writing in the Journal of Arachnology.
Biologist Martin Nyffeler at the University of Basel in Switzerland spends his days studying arachnid and insect eating habits. Over the past few years, he and his colleagues have made some amazing discoveries. For one, not only do spiders eat millions of tons of worms every year, but they also eat fish, and bats, and plants. With a palate so wide, hunger so great, and anger to match, why wouldn’t small spiders occasionally order the table of reptiles and amphibians? The researchers decided to study the scientific literature for reports of spider-on-frog or lizard activity.
Find them enough. Their research found one scene in Costa Rica and eight different scenarios in seven different counties in Florida, all initiated by one species. The regal spider may be less than a tenth of an ounce, but that doesn’t seem to stop it from chasing small frogs and lizards called anoles.
One report came from local nature blogger Loret Setters, who watched a Cuban tree frog disappear into the mouth of a regal spider.
“He looked at me, like, ‘You’re next!’ ”Setters said National Geography. “It totally surprised me.”
This amazing version of the predator-prey relationship is made possible by jumping on special spider hunting skills. Unlike most spiders, which spin nets and then wait for them, spiders jump prey like tigers. They have incredibly good vision and hearing, and are all poisonous.
Behavioral ecologist Thomas C. Jones of East Tennessee State University was not involved in the study but says spiders only go after frogs and berries when food is more easily scarce.
“They tend to get more powerful as they get smarter,” he said.
[h/t National Geographic News]