Spiders Eating Snakes, Oh My -- Here are Photographs to Prove it!
Freeman writes:
What's a spider with a discriminating palate to do when it gets tired of chowing down on its usual insect-heavy fare? A few nibbles of fresh snake might do the trick. Yes, some species of spider do indeed occasionally feast on snakes, according to a recent paper published in the American Journal of Arachnology. And that paper is chock-full of pictures to prove it.
Scientists had previously believed that spiders consumed live insects or other arthropods almost exclusively, but more recent research has shown their diets are more diverse. According to co-authors Martin Nyffeler (an arachnologist at the University of Basel) and J. Whitfield Gibbons (a herpetologist at the University of Georgia), various spider species have been found to feed on earthworms, velvet worms, bristle worms, slugs, snails, shrimp, crayfish, freshwater crabs, bats, mice, voles, rats, shrews, frogs, fish, newts, and salamanders, among other prey. There have also been multiple observed instances of spiders overpowering and feeding on snakes-usually baby or juvenile snakes.
Linked story has pictures of over a dozen cases of a spider chowing down on a snake.
Journal Reference:
Martin Nyffeler, J. Whitfield Gibbons. Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) feeding on snakes (Reptilia: Squamata) [open], The Journal of Arachnology (DOI: 10.1636/JoA-S-20-050)
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