{"id":112323,"date":"2025-09-01T17:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T17:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112323\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T17:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T17:28:11","slug":"what-if-spiders-were-deadlier-predators-than-we-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112323\/","title":{"rendered":"What if spiders were deadlier predators than we think?"},"content":{"rendered":"

They might be small, but spiders and their creepy-crawly cousins are fierce predators. In the depths of Peru\u2019s Amazon rainforest, invertebrates like tarantulas and centipedes aren\u2019t just nibbling bugs\u2014they\u2019re taking down vertebrates. And in a now-famous scene, one even took on an opossum.<\/p>\n

Biologists captured fifteen examples of invertebrates preying on vertebrates\u2014everything from tadpoles and lizards to snakes and, in one jaw-dropping moment, a mouse-sized marsupial. That last one? A world first.<\/p>\n

The rainforest\u2019s eight-legged hunters<\/p>\n

Most of these nighttime encounters took place in Peru\u2019s lowland rainforests, home to some of the world\u2019s most biodiverse ecosystems. As night falls, these forests buzz with movement\u2014and eight-legged predators take center stage. Wandering spiders from the Ctenidae family are everywhere: on leaves, branches, and the forest floor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A fishing spider, or dolomedes, snatches a tadpole from a pond deep in the Peruvian rainforest.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our night surveys, we often see spiders carrying prey,\u201d explained biologist Rudolf von May. \u201cUsually it\u2019s insects like crickets or moths. But sometimes, it\u2019s a frog or even a lizard.\u201d<\/p>\n

On two occasions, the team also recovered dead snakes\u2014one a venomous coral snake\u2014taken down by centipedes.<\/p>\n

But the most astonishing moment came when researchers spotted a tarantula the size of a dinner plate attacking a mouse opossum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was still wriggling when we found them,\u201d said Michael Grundler, a doctoral student on the team. \u201cThen after about 30 seconds, it went completely limp. We were shocked. We couldn\u2019t believe what we were witnessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Later, a mammal expert at the American Museum of Natural History confirmed it: these were the first-ever images of a tarantula hunting and consuming an opossum.<\/p>\n

Tarantula expert Rick West, who wasn\u2019t part of the study, wasn\u2019t surprised. \u201cWhile rare, tarantulas do prey on vertebrates,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re opportunistic\u2014they\u2019ll take down anything they can subdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

An unlikely roommate<\/p>\n

Predation wasn\u2019t the only surprise. The team also confirmed something even more curious\u2014a mutualistic relationship between a tarantula and one special frog.<\/p>\n

While most frogs would be fair game for a hungry spider, the species Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata seems to get a pass. In fact, it shares the tarantula\u2019s burrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know why the spider<\/a> doesn\u2019t eat this frog,\u201d von May said. \u201cOut of the hundreds of frog species in the Amazon, this one seems to have figured out how to live with a predator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists think the frog might repay its host by feeding on parasitic insects, acting as a live-in pest control.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nice reminder,\u201d said von May, \u201cthat not everything in the rainforest is out to kill. Sometimes, it\u2019s about survival through cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A tangle of life and death in the Amazon<\/p>\n

The research site in Peru is teeming with life\u201485 amphibian species and 90 reptile species call it home. And when you factor in the rainforest\u2019s vast array of invertebrates, the potential predator-prey interactions skyrocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of natural history research is key to understanding how rainforest ecosystems function,\u201d von May concluded.<\/p>\n

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