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The predation event is considered one of the most
important regulators of communities (Barbo et al.,
2009), as it is responsible for mortality in populations
and can occur at any stage of animal life (Maffei et al.,
2010). Most predators are generalists, opportunistically
feeding on available preys (Maffei et al., 2014). Among
these, arthropods comprise a high diversity of predators
and, as a mega-diverse group, exert important roles
in trophic webs of forested areas (Lewinsohn et al.,
2005).
Considered potential predators of vertebrates,
arthropods are represented by four subphyla bearing
living species: Arachnida, Insecta, Crustacea and
Chilopoda (Maffei et al., 2014). Among them, spiders
can act both as prey and as predators of amphibians and
reptiles (Barbo et al., 2009). In recent decades, predation
events between invertebrates and vertebrates have been
frequently recorded in nature, mainly involving spiders
and amphibians (e.g., Menin et al., 2005; Barbo et al.,
2009; Barej et al., 2009; Oliveira et al., 2010; Santos-
Silva et al., 2013; Pacheco et al., 2016; Pedrozo et al.,
2017), or spiders and reptiles (e.g. Bauer, 1990; Armas,
2000; Vieira et al., 2012; Borges et al., 2016; Oliveira et
al, 2017; Rocha et al., 2017).
The “Goliath birdeater” spider, Theraphosa blondi
(Latreille, 1804), belongs to the Theraphosidae family.
Tarantulas of this family are known to commonly present
a defence system of rubbing their hind paws in the
abdomen and releasing hair strands with stinging barbs
that can cause skin irritations (Gallon, 2000; Bertani and
Guadanucci, 2013). T. blondi is considered one of the
biggest known spiders, reaching up to 260 mm in length
(Marshall and Uetz, 1993; Foelix, 1996; Almeida et al.,
2018). It presents predominantly nocturnal activity and
its diet is considered generalist, being known to feed on
vertebrates of similar size or slightly smaller than the
spider, such as amphibians (Menin et al., 2005) and
birds (Carvalho et al., 2016). It has a wide geographic
distribution, and can be found in tropical forests of the
southeast of Venezuela and Guyana, and in the north of
the Brazilian Amazon forest (Saul-Gershenz, 1996). One
of the popular names of T. blondi is “Goliath bird-eating
spider”, due to the record of a specimen that preyed on
a female of the bird species Willisornis poecilinotus
(Cabanis, 1847) (Carvalho et al., 2016).
The “Banded cat-eyed snake”, Leptodeira annulata
(Linnaeus, 1758), is a semi-arboreal species of the
Dipsadidae family with nocturnal activity and a diet that
consists predominantly of amphibians (Santos-Silva et
al., 2014), eventually feeding on lizards and insects
(Mesquita et al., 2013; Santos et al., 2018). With a wide
geographic distribution, this snake can be found from
Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 953-956 (2019) (published online on 25 September 2019)
Predation on Leptodeira annulata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Squamata:
Colubridae) by Theraphosa blondi (Latreille, 1804) (Araneae:
Theraphosidae) in Amazon Forest, North of Brazil
Fernanda Dias da Silva1,*, Rogério Barros2, Vitor Loreno de Almeida Cerqueira1,3, Camila Mattedi4,
Rafael Cunha Pontes4, and Elvis Almeida Pereira5,6,7
1 Laboratório de Ecologia Estrutural e Funcional, Universidade
Paulista, Avenida Independência, Éden, Sorocaba, São Paulo
18087-101, Brazil.
2 Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo
09972-270, Brazil.
3 Universidade de Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo 18023-000,
Brazil.
4 Setor de Herpetologia, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu
Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta
da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
20940-040, Brazil.
5 Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Biologia
Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro,
Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil.
6 Mapinguari – Laboratório de Biogeografia e Sistemática de
Anfíbios e Répteis, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do
Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul 79002-970, Brazil.
7 Zoological Institute, Braunschweig University of Technology,
Mendelssohnstrasse 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
* Correponding author. E-mail: fdsherpeto@gmail.com
Fernanda Dias da Silva et al.
954
Mexico to Argentina, being present in several domains
of Brazil, such as the Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado,
Atlantic Forest, and Pantanal (Pavan, 2007). According
to Mesquita et al. (2013), this species presents a great
arsenal of defensive mechanisms, including escape,
elevating the anterior part of the body with dorsoventral
flattening and triangulation of the head, cloacal discharge
with bad odour, thanatosis, and quick jumps from the
branches directly to the ground. Although snakes are
not common items in the diet of invertebrates (Borges et
al., 2016), we present the first record of predation of L.
annulata by T. blondi.
On the 31st of July 2018, at 10:00h, during field activity
in a dense ombrophilous forest (3.1667° S, 51.4307° W;
Datum WGS84; 84 m elevation), in the municipality of
Anapú, state of Pará, Brazil, we observed a Theraphosa
blondi specimen with an individual of Leptodeira
annulata trapped in its chelicerae (Figure 1A–B).
When approaching the animals for identification and
photographic record of predation, the T. blondi
individual became aggressive, rubbing its hind legs in
the abdomen, and releasing a large amount of urticating
hair strands. Observation lasted about five minutes until
the T. blondi specimen moved quickly to a hole in an
aerial root carrying its prey with it, thereafter being no
further sign of the specimens (Figure 1C–D).
Most of the reports go back only to the feeding
process, and it is impossible to say if there was an active
predation event, or if the predator only benefited from
an opportunistic situation (Maffei et al., 2010). Although
most predation events involving Brazilian herpetofauna
occur by spiders of the family Ctenidae (e.g. Foerster
Figure 1. (A–B) Theraphosa blondi preying on an individual of Leptodeira annulata; (C) T. blondi escaping with its prey; (D) L.
annulata being carried into a hole in an aerial root.
et al., 2017; Oliveira et al., 2017; Pedrozo et al., 2017),
predation records of the groups inserted in the order
Squamata, specifically between snakes and spiders, are
still scarce in literature and are associated with spiders
belonging to the Theraphosidae family (e.g. Nunes et
al., 2010; Dias et al., 2015; Borges et al., 2016; Pinto et
al., 2017) e Theridiidae (e.g. O’Shea and Kelly, 2017;
Rocha et al., 2017). Consequently, reports on the trophic
interaction for Theraphosa genus, including T. blondi
are scarce in literature, with only one record in nature
concerning invertebrate prey (e.g. Nyffeler et al., 2017),
and two concerning vertebrate prey (e.g. Menin et al.,
2005; Carvalho et al., 2016), indicating a gap on the
knowledge about their food items. Therefore, this record
helps to understand the natural history of T. blondi and
L. annulata, highlighting the existence of important
trophic connections between these groups.
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Accepted by Pedro Pinna
Fernanda Dias da Silva et al.
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