Biologists capture super-creepy photos of Amazon spiders making meals of frogs, lizards

Date:  February 28, 2019

Source:  University of Michigan

Warning to arachnophobes and the faint of heart: This is the stuff of nightmares, so you might want to proceed with caution.

A University of Michigan-led team of biologists has documented 15 rare and disturbing predator-prey interactions in the Amazon rainforest including keep-you-up-at-night images of a dinner plate-size tarantula dragging a young opossum across the forest floor.

The photos are part of a new journal article titled "Ecological interactions between arthropods and small vertebrates in a lowland Amazon rainforest." Arthropods are invertebrate animals with segmented bodies and jointed appendages that include insects, arachnids (spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks) and crustaceans.

The article, scheduled for online publication Feb. 28 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, details instances of arthropod predators -- mostly large spiders along with a few centipedes and a giant water bug -- preying on vertebrates such as frogs and tadpoles, lizards, snakes, and even a small opossum.

"This is an underappreciated source of mortality among vertebrates," said University of Michigan evolutionary biologist Daniel Rabosky. "A surprising amount of death of small vertebrates in the Amazon is likely due to arthropods such as big spiders and centipedes."

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New tarantula species from Angola distinct with a one-of-a-kind 'horn' on its back

Date:  February 12, 2019

Source:  Pensoft Publishers

A new to science species of tarantula with a peculiar horn-like protuberance sticking out of its back was recently identified from Angola, a largely underexplored country located at the intersection of several Afrotropical ecoregions.

Collected as part of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, which aims to uncover the undersampled biodiversity in the entire Okavango catchment of Angola, Namibia and Botswana, thereby paving the way for sustainable conservation in the area, the new arachnid is described in a paper published in the open-access journal African Invertebrates by the team of Drs John Midgley and Ian Engelbrecht.

Although the new spider (Ceratogyrus attonitifer sp.n.) belongs to a group known as horned baboon spiders, the peculiar protuberance is not present in all of these species. Moreover, in the other species -- where it is -- the structure is completely sclerotised, whereas the Angolan specimens demonstrate a soft and characteristically longer 'horn'. The function of the curious structure remains unknown.

The new tarantula's extraordinary morphology has also prompted its species name: C. attonitifer, which is derived from the Latin root attonit- ("astonishment" or "fascination"), and the suffix -fer ("bearer of" or "carrier"). It refers to the astonishment of the authors upon the discovery of the remarkable species.

Read on

Faced with Drowning, This Giant Tarantula Goes Out on a Limb

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | March 12, 2018 05:08pm ET

A giant, hairy tarantula that was clinging for dear life to a branch with all eight of its legs is now in a much safer — and somewhat drier — spot, thanks to two spider lovers who rescued it from a flooded street in Queensland, Australia.

Andrea Gofton posted a video of the daring rescue on Facebook Monday (March 12), Queensland time, saying, "My excitement for the day...saved a spider." [Goliath Birdeater: Images of a Colossal Spider]

Many people wouldn't protect a tarantula (most people don't even want to be in the same ZIP code as a poisonous arachnid), but that's not what's weird about this video, said Lorenzo Prendini, curator of arachnida and myriapoda at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

The weird thing is the tarantula's behavior, Prendini said.

This tarantula, thought to be a whistling spider, typically lives in a silk-lined burrow under the ground, Prendini said. But it has rained so much in north Queensland recently — more than 15 inches (40 centimeters) in four days, according to the Aussie news station nine.com.au— that the floodwater likely washed the tarantula out of its burrow, Prendini said. From there, the tarantula apparently scrambled up the tree limb to escape the rising waters.

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New bird-eating tarantulas found in South America

By Lauren Tousignant March 10, 2017 | 3:23pm

Fantastic news for anyone who’s a fan of spiders that are capable of eating birds.

Three new bird-devouring tarantulas have been discovered in South America.

The discovery came as scientists were doing a massive overhaul of the classification system for Avicularias — large, hairy tarantulas that live in trees and eat small birds, insects and bats.

These types of tarantulas were first grouped in 1818 and included 49 different species. But the system was “a huge mess” according to Caroline Sayuri Fukushima, lead author of the study, published in ZooKeys.

Researchers cut the number of species in the Avicularias group from 49 to 12, adding in the three new ones. They created three new classifications — Ybyrapora, Caribena and Antillena — in which to place the misidentified species.

One of the new species, Avicularia merianae, was named after Maria Sybilla Merian, a German-born naturalist who drew a famous illustration of an Avicularia tarantula eating a bird in 1705.

“This illustration gave origin to the name of the genus and the popular name birdeater spiders,” Fukushima told Live Science.com. “People [in] that time did not believe in her observations, saying that a spider eating a bird was a female fantasy.”

The Avicularia merianae lives in Peru and is 6.5 inches long. The second new species, Avicularia lynnae, lives in Ecuador and Peru is 4.2 inches long. Avicularia caei is the third new spider, which is almost 5 inches long and is only found in Pará, Brazil. 

 
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Love in the Time of Tarantulas? Newfound Spider Named for Márquez

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | July 6, 2016 03:30pm ET

A fearsome tarantula covered in bizarre "attack" hairs has been discovered in a mountain range in Colombia. As an homage to the country where the new species was found, scientists named it Kankuamo marquezi, after Gabriel García Márquez, the Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author of the classic novels "100 Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera."

The researchers realized they had a new genus and species of spider as soon as they examined it. The spider's "attack" hairs, or urticating hairs, look different from all other known tarantula hairs, the researchers found. Most tarantulas "kick" their urticating hairs at enemies, but the newfound spider is the first known species in its subfamily to use its hairs in direct contact attacks, they said.

"This new finding is a great contribution to the knowledge of the arachnids in Colombia, and a sign of how much remains to be discovered," the researchers said in a statement.

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Folsom Prison tarantula named after Johnny Cash

A new tarantula has been named after Johnny Cash, the singer, because of its proximity to Folsom and its black appearance

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

11:00PM GMT 04 Feb 2016

Inmates at Folsom Prison may be singing the blues a little louder when they hear what is crawling outside the penitentiary walls.

A new tarantula has been found, and the creature has been named after Johnny Cash, the singer, because of its proximity to Folsom and its striking black appearance.

Aphonopelma johnnycashi is one of 14 new species discovered in the southwestern United States by biologists at Auburn University and Millsaps College following a 10 year hunt.

"Tarantulas are just teddy bears with eight legs" said Dr Chris Hamilton, Auburn University

Cash wrote the hit Folsom Prison Blues after watching the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while serving in Germany in the US Air Force. He later recorded a live version at the jail which reached number one in the US country charts in 1968.

“We often hear about how new species are being discovered from remote corners of the Earth, but what is remarkable is that these spiders are in our own backyard,” said Dr Chris Hamilton, lead author of the study.

“With the Earth in the midst of a sixth mass extinction, it is astonishing how little we know about our planet’s biodiversity, even for charismatic groups such as tarantulas.”

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Tarantulas Have 2 Left Feet When It's Hot

by Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | April 01, 2015 06:00pm ET

The tarantula is a fast-moving spider, but it's not always a coordinated one, a new study finds. As the arachnid increases its speed, it also loses some of its coordination, becoming a "little wonky," researchers said.

Spiders have developed a unique way to move around: Rather than relying mainly on muscles to move, they use a fluid called hemolymph, which is their blood. When hemolymph flows into their tubelike legs, the limbs extend and their flexor muscles bend the legs at the joint, causing that fluid to flow back out.

Temperature can change the thickness, or viscosity, of hemolymph, said the study's senior author, Anna Ahn, an associate professor of biology at Harvey Mudd College in California. 

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Tarantula venom illuminates electrical activity in live cells

Date:

October 21, 2014

Source:

University of California - Davis Health System

Summary:

A cellular probe that combines a tarantula toxin with a fluorescent compound has been developed to help scientists observe electrical activity in neurons and other cells. This is the first time researchers have been able to visually observe these electrical signaling proteins turn on without genetic modification.

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John Lennon commemorated by naming a new tarantula species from South America after him

Date:

October 20, 2014

Source:

Pensoft Publishers

Summary:

A newly described tarantula species from Western Brazilian Amazonia was named Bumba lennoni in honor of John Lennon, a founder member of the legendary band the Beatles. The new species is part of the tarantula family Theraphosidae which comprises the largest sized spider species in the world

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Argentina yields three new tarantula species

Date:

May 7, 2014

Source:

Pensoft Publishers

Summary:

Scientists have discovered and described three native to northern Argentina new species of the engaging spider group of the tarantulas. The subfamily Theraphosinae to which the new species belong is a large group of tarantulas distributed exclusively in the New World, whose greatest diversity is found in South America.

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Tarantulas' personality determines whether they copulate with males or cannibalize them

Date:

April 22, 2014

Source:

Plataforma SINC

Summary:

Sexual cannibalism in spiders – the attack and consumption of males by females before or after copulation – is very widespread. A new investigation analyses the reason behind such extreme behavior, at times even before the females have ensured the sperm’s fertilization of their eggs.

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Tarantula Mating Season 2013: Lust-Filled Spiders Come Above Ground, Terrify Everyone

Bigfoot may be a hoax, but if you live in California, you'll likely face something else that's big, hairy and totally real.

It's Tarantula Lovefest 2013.

"This weekend or next weekend is going to be the biggest spider movement of all," Al Wolf, director of the Sonoma County Reptile Rescue told CBS News Saturday."All the males will be looking for the girls so it's gonna be eight-legged love."

Male tarantulas mostly live underground in burrows, but during mating season, their lust brings them up to the outside world in search of females, who are waiting in their own burrows.

If droves of randy tarantulas running amok wasn't creepy enough, their mating process is. Males carry their sperm on the outside of their bodies. They weave a "sperm web," where they keep their sperm until they find the lady tarantula of their dreams.

While the spiders may terrify humans, it's the male tarantulas who are really getting the raw end of this deal. If a tarantula tryst happens when the female is hungry, she's apt to devour him, according to National Geographic.

You shouldn't have to worry about spider attacks, though. Worry instead about drunk wasps swarming through the U.K., or the freakishly giant hornets that have killed dozens of people and injured over a thousand in China.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/06/tarantula-mating-2013-california_n_4053774.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Sipping Tarantula Venom Kills Crop-Eating Insects

The venom in a tarantula's fangs packs a lethal punch when injected into its prey.

But the toxic brew could also serve as an insecticide against agricultural pests that consume the venom orally, a new study finds. A component of the spider venom is especially effective against the cotton bollworm, a pest that attacks crop plants.

Globally, insect agricultural pests reduce crop yields by 10 percent to 14 percent and damage 9 percent to 20 percent of stored food crops. Farmers primarily use chemical insecticides to control pests, but many insects are resistant to them.

In the last decade, researchers have been investigating "bioinsecticides," proteins derived from natural sources such as spider venom.

In the study, researchers milked venom from Australian tarantulas (Selenotypus plumipes), and isolated a small peptide — a molecular building block of cells — from the deadly substance. They fed the peptide to termites and cotton bollworms, and compared the effects with those of mealworms injected with the peptide.

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Giant tarantula the size of man’s hand ‘on the loose in Torquay’

People of Torquay, don’t be alarmed but a giant tarantula the size of a man’s hand has reportedly escaped and is on the loose in your town.

Landlady Sonia McGrath, who rents out a flat in Ellacombe, spotted the ‘brown and hairy’ spider in the garden of her property.

‘I thought it was a mouse at first but then I saw these big hairy legs,’ she told the Herald Express.

‘I dropped everything and went straight home.’

Mrs McGrath retuned with reinforcements in the shape of her husband Kevin, who was equipped with a fishing net and broom handle.

Despite their best efforts, the creepy crawly escaped through a panel in the fence and has been missing ever since.

Luckily for those living in Torquay, the tarantula is not thought to be dangerous.

‘They (Paignton Zoo) told me that it is harmless but won’t survive if it gets too cold so I desperately want to find it,’ Mrs McGrath added.

‘I can’t see myself picking it up but want to make sure it is safe.’

http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/25/giant-tarantula-the-size-of-mans-hand-on-the-loose-in-torquay-3937079/

New to nature No 107: Typhochlaena costae

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, that Harvard professor and mycologist Roland Thaxter once gave a public lecture on the Laboulbeniales, an enigmatic group of fungi that grow on the integument of insects. A woman in the audience is said to have asked: "Professor Thaxter, this is all interesting, but of what value is it to mankind?" to which Thaxter replied: "None, thank God!"

Much species exploration is undertaken out of pure curiosity about the living world, so it is easy to understand why progress in some obscure taxa has been slow. Other groups, however, are so significant that neglect of their taxonomy is inexplicable. Theraphosidae is one such taxon.

The theraphosids include about one-third of the 2,693 documented species of mygalomorphs – tarantulas and funnel web spiders. In the intricate sub-webs of invertebrate animals in many terrestrial ecosystems these are "top" predators, making them of special interest to ecology. They have been used as model organisms in such diverse studies as molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, ethology and biogeography, and they have a large and devoted following in the international pet trade. Yet their taxonomy, natural history and phylogeny remain incompletely studied.

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Arachnophobes look away now: Could an asbestos-coated tarantula be on the loose in Cardiff?

Question: What's worse than a tarantula on the loose? Answer: A tarantula covered in asbestos on the loose. 

It's a scenario seemingly designed to give arachnophobes nightmares, but it's one that a team of asbestos experts working in an attic in Cardiff encountered earlier this week.

According to local press reports, a huge tarantula skin was discovered by workers from the asbestos removal business Kuston Vorlandon Tuesday afternoon.

Although not yet confirmed, Cardiff Reptile Centre, who were shown a picture of the skin, believe the animal could be a Chilean rose tarantula.

A spokesperson for the Reptile Centre said they were shown a picture of the skin in a plastic bag - and that it was definitely a tarantula - but they could not say for certain what species it was.

Wales Online reported that the skin was originally found after the asbestos removal team moved into a darkened loft area of an abandoned house in the Roath area of Cardiff.

Read on

Tempura-battered tarantula on menu at California bug fest

By Dana Feldman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hungry? How about tempura-battered fried Tarantula for an appetizer? They're frozen then defrosted before bug chef David George Gordon cuts off the abdomen, singes off hairs with a lighter and dunks the remaining spider body into batter.

"You just have to brown it up for a couple of minutes. Then I add my secret ingredient, a pinch of smoked paprika for flavor. The best part are the legs," said Gordon, speaking at an insect cooking demonstration in Hollywood aimed at showcasing insects as a sustainable food.

Other treats being served up at the third annual Bug-A-Thon at Ripley's Believe It or Not! Hollywood on Friday include Scorpion Scaloppine and dishes consisting of the chef's choice bugs: grasshoppers, cockroaches and other savory surprises.

Considered the planet's most sustainable source of eco-friendly and inexpensive animal protein, the practice of eating insects is practiced globally by two-thirds of the world's population, said Andrea Silverman, the manager of Ripley's Hollywood, who said the demonstration aimed to spread the word about the nutritional value of bugs.

"The tarantula was great. It tasted like shrimp tempura. I also tried the grasshoppers. I ate the whole thing starting with the head! It tasted like pepper!" she said.

She added that nutrient-rich crickets provide three times the calcium and iron as beef, require hundreds of times less water to generate the same amount of protein as a cow, and reportedly taste like "nutty shrimp."

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Meet the Tarantula as Big as Your Face

Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor

Date: 04 April 2013 Time: 11:48 AM ET

It's big, it's hairy, and it's venomous.

The newest spider to give arachnophobes the willies, a tarantula named Poecilotheria rajaeihas been discovered on the island nation of Sri Lanka.

With a leg span of 8 inches (20 centimeters) and enough venom to kill mice, lizards, small birds and snakes, according to Sky News, the crawler is covered in subtle markings of gray, pink and daffodil yellow.

"It can be quite attractive, unless spiders freak you out," Peter Kirk, editor of the British Tarantula Society journal, told the New York Daily News.

Even the scientists studying the spiders admit to being a little freaked out by its size: "It was slightly smaller than the size of the plate we have dinner on," Ranil Nanayakkara, co-founder of Sri Lanka’s Biodiversity Education and Research, told the Daily News.

Tarantulas have been the subject of considerable study lately: Researchers are still trying to determine how or if tarantulas use silk from the spigots on their feet. And in 2012, a scientist reported discovering nine species of colorful Amazonian tarantulas in Brazil.

The newest tarantula, as part of the Poecilotheria genus of arachnids (sometimes called "Pokies" or tiger spiders), is a tree-dwelling spider. All the Pokies, known for being colorful, fast and venomous, are found only in India and Sri Lanka, Wired reports.

"They are quite rare," Nanayakkara told Wired. "They prefer well-established old trees, but due to deforestation the number have dwindled, and due to lack of suitable habitat they enter old buildings."

It's not yet known exactly how rare the newly discovered tarantula is, but there's some concern that habitat destruction is causing their number to dwindle. Additionally, northern Sri Lanka, where the spider was found, has been wracked by political violence in recent years.

"It demonstrates that wildlife continues to survive whilst we are in the throes of conflict and that they can adapt to its changing environment," Kirk told Sky News, "but … we risk destroying the habitats of species new to science and condemning them to extinction before they are even discovered."

http://www.livescience.com/28433-tarantula-poecilotheria-rajaei.html

Dutch customs find hundreds of tarantulas

DUTCH customs have confiscated hundreds of live tarantulas on a flight from Peru after discovering them hidden in a suitcase, officials say.

"Customs at Schiphol airport found 200 live tarantulas and an assortment of other insects including bugs, crickets, grasshoppers and millipedes," customs officials said in a statement, issued by their umbrella Finance Ministry.

"The animals were collected by a German couple on a recent trip to Peru and were put in plastic containers and tubes hidden in their clothing and shoes," the statement said, adding that some of the tarantulas were of a type little known to science.
 
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/dutch-customs-find-hundreds-of-tarantulas/story-e6frfq80-1226487851063#ixzz28RnmfC25

'Getting Naked' Helps Water Fleas Ditch Pesky Parasites

A tarantula rests on its back in a nest of webbing, its legs periodically flexing. With excruciating slowness, the legs start to extend as a shiny bulge begins to erupt out of the spider's back. Eventually, the tarantula pushes away its old exoskeleton like a dirty pair of pants.  

This molting process is one of the most dangerous moments in any arachnid's life, and the same goes for other exoskeleton-adorned creatures, such as crustaceans and insects. But now, research finds that this vulnerable period may actually protect molting animals from parasites.

"Molting shortly after exposure to parasites can actually help hosts get rid of attached parasites before they penetrate the host body," said study author David Duneau, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University who completed the research while at the University of Basel, Switzerland. "Therefore, the study suggests a new means for avoiding infection for hosts which molt throughout their lives, like is the case for crustaceans, arachnids, nematodes, amphibians and reptiles."

To test this idea, Duneau exposed tiny crustaceans called water fleas (Daphnia magna) to a bacterial parasite in the genus Pasteuria. He then monitored the water fleas for molting and infection rates.

Read on:  http://www.livescience.com/19607-molting-parasite-defense.html