Vertebrate-eating jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) revisited: consumption of geckos and bird hatchlings

Abstract

In this paper, vertebrate predation by jumping spiders (Salticidae) was revisited, taking into account incidents of this kind recently published in the scientific literature or on the internet. Our study revealed that vertebrate predation by salticids is more widespread than previously thought, geographically and taxonomically. Roughly ninety percent of all reported cases refer to predation on anurans (Hylidae and Ranixalidae) and lizards (Dactyloidae and Gekkonidae) by salticids from the subfamily Salticinae (Hyllus spp., Phidippus spp., and an unidentified species presumably related to Hasarius Simon, 1871). In the remaining cases, salticids from the subfamily Salticinae (Paraphidippus cf. aurantius (Lucas, 1833) and Phidippus audax (Hentz, 1845)) were observed attacking bird hatchlings (families Paridae and Trochilidae), weighing 46 times more than the spiders. In two instances, the spiders were observed biting the hatchlings, but only in one single case, a salticid was seen feeding on a hatchling.

Full text

2021. Journal of Arachnology 49:397–401
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Vertebrate-eating jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) revisited:
consumption of geckos and bird hatchlings
Martin Nyffeler
1
,G.B. Edwards
2
and Raymond Arkin
3
:
1
Section of Conservation Biology, Department of
Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland; E-mail: martin.nyffeler@unibas.ch;
2
Curator Emeritus: Arachnida & Myriapoda, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA;
3
Former graduate student in Biology at Stanford University, CA 94305; present address: Eugene, OR 97404, USA
Abstract. In this paper, vertebrate predation by jumping spiders (Salticidae) was revisited, taking into account incidents
of this kind recently published in the scientific literature or on the internet. Our study revealed that vertebrate predation by
salticids is more widespread than previously thought, geographically and taxonomically. Roughly ninety percent of all
reported cases refer to predation on anurans (Hylidae and Ranixalidae) and lizards (Dactyloidae and Gekkonidae) by
salticids from the subfamily Salticinae (Hyllus spp., Phidippus spp., and an unidentified species presumably related to
Hasarius Simon, 1871). In the remaining cases, salticids from the subfamily Salticinae (Paraphidippus cf. aurantius (Lucas,
1833) and Phidippus audax (Hentz, 1845)) were observed attacking bird hatchlings (families Paridae and Trochilidae),
weighing ’4–6 times more than the spiders. In two instances, the spiders were observed biting the hatchlings, but only in
one single case, a salticid was seen feeding on a hatchling.
Keywords: Large salticids, predation, Dactyloidae, Gekkonidae, Hylidae, Ranixalidae, bird hatchlings
https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-20-090
Recently, Nyffeler et al. (2017) reported that Phidippus regius C. L.
Koch, 1846 occasionally captured small hylid frogs and anole lizards
in suburban and natural habitats in various parts of Florida, USA.
Using the same search method as Nyffeler et al. (2017), new evidence
of jumping spider predation on small vertebrates surfaced over the
past three years, which we present here.
This includes, among others, four previously unknown accounts of
predation on tree frogs (Hylidae) by Phidippus regius in Florida
(Table 1). Furthermore, an unidentified salticid spider (apparently
related to the genus Hasarius Simon, 1871) was seen capturing and
devouring a frog tadpole on the wet surface of a cliff near Satara,
Western Ghats, India (Fig. 1A; Ahmed et al. 2017). The tadpole (an
unspecified species in the genus Indirana; family Ranixalidae) was
about the size of the spider if the tadpole’s snout-vent length is
compared with the spider’s body length and about 4.5 times larger if
the spider’s body length is compared with the tadpole‘s total length
(Fig. 1A).
Furthermore, evidence of lizard predation by salticids from
geographic areas outside the USA is reported here, this time referring
to large spiders of the genus Hyllus C. L. Koch, 1846. A first incident
of this kind was witnessed and photographed in a wildlife
conservancy area in Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Anton
Roberts, pers. comm.). In this particular case, a female Hyllus
treleaveni Peckham & Peckham, 1902, positioned on the ducts of an
aquaponics system, fed on a Cape Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus
capensis (Fig. 1B). A second incident of gecko predation by a Hyllus
jumping spider was recorded in the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve,
Singapore (Nikita Hengbok, pers. comm.). There, a female Heavy
Jumping Spider, Hyllus diardi (Walckenaer, 1837), was observed
feeding on a gecko of the genus Hemidactylus (most likely the
Common House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus) (Fig. 1C). These large
Hyllus spp. have a body length of 14–17 mm (Dippenaar-Schoeman
2014; Basumatary et al. 2018). Based on the photos, we estimated that
the gecko victims were 1.3–1.8 times larger than their salticid
predators if the geckos’ snout-vent length is compared with spider
body length, and 2.7–4 times larger if the geckos’ total length is
compared with spider body length. Furthermore, another incident of
lizard predation by Phidippus regius was photographed at Archbold
Biological Station near Lake Placid, Florida (Table 1). Using the
process of elimination, William Lamar (pers. comm.) and some other
herpetologists assumed the lizard in question may have been a
neonate Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus woodi; Phrynosomatidae),
a species common at Archbold Biological Station; but other
herpetologists felt that the ID of this lizard would remain uncertain
because of the photo’s low resolution.
While monitoring a nest of the Violet-crowned Hummingbird
(Amazilia violiceps) in a greenhouse in San Juan del Rio, Mexico,
from August to October 2010, an incident of jumping spider
predation on one of the hatchlings was recorded (Fig. 1D;
Dom´
ınguez-Laso & Rosas-Espinoza 2017). A jumping spider (Para-
phidippus cf. aurantius (Lucas, 1833)) was found on top of the
hatchling biting it several times in the throat area and subsequently
biting it in some other body parts. A few minutes later the bird ceased
moving. The spider fed on the bird for at least 40 minutes, after which
time the observations were discontinued. The spider in question had a
body length of approximately 10 mm, while the bird measured ’40
mm from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail. Jumping spiders of
that size reach a body weight of ’0.09 g (Carrel 1987), whereas
neonate hummingbirds weigh about 5–6 times as much (’0.5 g; Rahn
1982). When the human observers returned to the scene four hours
later, the spider had disappeared leaving behind the hatchling carcass.
In 2017, the nest activity of the Black Capped Chickadee (Poecile
atricapillus) was monitored and recorded 24/7 during the May-August
nesting season by means of ‘‘nest cam’’ video cameras placed inside
and outside a nestbox attached to the outside of a residence in
Eugene, Oregon (R. Arkin, pers. obs.). The nest contained seven eggs
from which five healthy chicks hatched by mid-May. From then
onwards, the chicks were fed by the mother bird. During this period, a
peculiar incident occurred. In a video recording from 19 May, an
adult female jumping spider Phidippus audax (Hentz, 1845) could be
seen entering the nestbox. After briefly following an insect, the
intruder noticed and approached the chicks and rapidly inflicted one
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with a presumably venomous bite (Fig. 2; see video online at: https://
doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13585169). Only a short time later, the
mother bird returned and removed the intruder from the nestbox
(transporting it in its beak, as it seems without harming the spider).
The following day, one of the chicks was found dead while the other
four chicks were still alive. We assume that the chick died as a result
of the presumably venomous bite inflicted by the spider. The spider in
question had an estimated body length of ’13.5 mm whereas the
dead hatchling had a length of 34 mm (from head to bottom not
including legs; R. Arkin, pers. obs.). Adult P. audax females reach a
body weight of ’0.15–0.34 g (Carrel 1987; Anderson 1996), and a
neonate chickadee, on the other hand, may weight about 4 times as
much (’0.85 g; Wetherbee 1961). Although this incident does not
qualify as actual predation event (because the spider was prevented
from eating the chick), the spider attacking and biting a hatchling
may be considered a possible predation attempt.
How common are incidents of spider predation on bird hatchlings?
In the past, multiple video recording studies on predation at nests of
small passerine and other small birds were conducted over time
periods of tens of thousands of hours with the purpose of identifying
the predators of hatchlings, but in none of these other video
recordings were attacks of jumping spiders or other spiders on bird
hatchlings witnessed (e.g., Thompson & Burhans 2003; Stake et al.
2004; Benson & Cartier 2010). One major reason for the near-absence
of spider attacks on hatchlings seems to be the fact that the nests
usually are well protected by the parent birds. Nevertheless, there are
a few anecdotal reports of predation on bird hatchlings by
mygalomorph spiders (Pocock 1899; Gudger 1925; McKeown 1952;
Wehtje 2007). In the vast majority of cases where bird predation by
spiders was reported, this referred to situations in which volant birds
got entangled in the large, strong orb-webs (’0.5–1.5 m in diameter)
of large araneid and nephilid orb-weaving spiders (Brooks 2012;
Walther 2016; Smith et al. 2020).
Our study revealed that vertebrate predation by salticids is more
widespread than previously thought, geographically and taxonomi-
cally. Nevertheless, two-thirds of all cases of vertebrate predation (or
predation attempts) reported so far have been attributable to
Phidippus regius in Florida, USA (Table 1). With a body length of
2.2 cm, this species is one of the world’s largest salticids (weighing
0.5–1 g; Anderson 1996; Nyffeler et al. 2017), and among the .6,200
described salticid species, P. regius appears to be uniquely successful
in supplementing its arthropod diet by occasionally capturing small
anurans and lizards. The question arises whether large salticids have
some unique venom properties that allow for these types of oversized
prey to be taken, as is the case in the black widow spiders (Latrodectus
spp., Theridiidae) equipped with a neurotoxin (a-latrotoxin) specif-
ically targeting the vertebrate nervous system (see Escoubas et al.
2000). Unfortunately, salticid spider venoms are still largely
unexplored (Jessica Garb, pers. comm.; Escoubas et al. 2000;
Kuhn-Nentwig et al. 2011), so this question cannot be answered
with certainty. Nevertheless, the fact that the majority of the paralytic
activity observed/studied so far in spiders is due to the action of
peptides makes it highly likely that this is true in salticids as well
(Pierre Escoubas, pers. comm.). Furthermore, it is known that
salticids have fast-acting venoms (Grothaus 1967; Dom´
ınguez-Laso &
Rosas-Espinoza 2017). It can therefore be hypothesized that salticids
Table 1.—Eighteen incidents of vertebrate predation and one vertebrate predation attempt. P ¼Predation; A ¼Attempt (spider bit a hatchling
bird; consumption prevented by intervention by the mother bird).
Spider species Prey species Prey family
Type of
incident
Number of
incidents
Geographic
region Source
Hyllus diardi Hemidactylus (frenatus ?)Gekkonidae P 1 Singapore Nikita Hengbok
A
Hyllus treleaveni Lygodactylus capensis Gekkonidae P 1 South Africa Maritz & Maritz 2020
Paraphidippus cf. aurantius Amazilia violiceps Trochilidae P 1 Mexico Dom´
ınguez-Laso &
Rosas-Espinoza 2017
Phidippus audax Poecile atricapillus Paridae A 1 USA, Oregon R. Arkin, pers. obs.
Phidippus bidentatus Anolis sp. Dactyloidae P 1 Costa Rica Nyffeler et al. 2017
Phidippus regius Dryophytes femoralis Hylidae P 1 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017
Dryophytes squirellus Hylidae P 1þ3 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017;
Internet sources
B,C,D
N/A Hylidae P 1þ1 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017;
Internet source
E
Osteopilus septentrionalis Hylidae P 3 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017
Anolis carolinensis Dactyloidae P 1 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017
Anolis sagrei Dactyloidae P 1 USA, Florida Nyffeler et al. 2017
N/A (Sceloporus woodi ?) N/A (Phrynosomatidae ?) P 1 USA, Florida Internet source
F
Unknown salticid species
(apparently related to
Hasarius spp.)
Indirana sp. tadpole Ranixalidae P 1 India Ahmed et al. 2017
Total — — — 19 — —
A
Nikita Hengbok – Hyllus diardi preying on a Hemidactylus (frenatus ?) in Singapore - Online at: http://ihengbok.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-
adventures-in-sungei-buloh-wetland.html Accessed 11 September 2020
B
George Grall – Alamy images. A female regal jumping spider, Phidippus regius, preying on a squirrel tree frog, Hyla squirrella. - Image ID:
JDMBE2 Online at: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-a-female-regal-jumping-spider-phiddipus-regius-preying-on-a-squirrel-146121530.
html Accessed 11 September 2020 / No longer accessible on 7 January 2021
C
Ellen Humble – Female Phidippus regius eating a frog (Dryophytes squirellus?) in Alachua County, Florida. Online at: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v¼vIG-mdh8zP0 Accessed 11 September 2020
D
Male Phidippus regius eating a frog (Dryophytes squirellus?) in a saw palmetto, Hillsborough River State Park, Florida. Online at: https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v¼Z63kBmDRTGk Accessed 11 September 2020
E
Phidippus regius eating a hylid frog in Florida. Online at: http://snap361.net/ig-post/1875148836249088810_197468702 No longer accessible on
11 September 2020
F
Phidippus regius eating a lizard http://snap361.com/ig-tag/archboldbiologicalstation/ No longer accessible on 23 October 2020
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may use fast-acting peptides targeting the prey’s central and/or
peripheral nervous system as one of the components of their prey
capture strategy (Pierre Escoubas, pers. comm.). The amount of
venom for prey capture (i.e., the amount per bite) is likely to be
related to the size of the salticid predator, which might explain why
only large salticids are effective in capturing vertebrate prey.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman (University of Pretoria) and
Dmitri Logunov (Manchester Museum, the University of Man-
chester) for identifying spiders from the genus Hyllus. Furthermore,
we wish to thank the herpetologists Aaron Bauer (Villanova
University), L. Lee Grismer (La Sierra University, Riverside,
California), Matthew Heinicke (University of Michigan Dearborn),
Kelvin K. P. Lim (National University of Singapore), Dennis R ¨
odder
(Zoologisches Forschungs Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn), and
Perry L. Wood, Jr. (Auburn University) for the ID of a gecko from
Singapore based on a photograph. We also thank William Lamar
(formerly University of Texas) and several other herpetologists for
commenting on a lizard photo taken near the Archbold Biological
Station, Florida. Appreciation is furthermore expressed to Pierre
Escoubas (University of Nice Sophia Antipolis) and Jessica Garb
Figure 1.—A. Unidentified salticid spider (apparently related to the genus Hasarius Simon, 1871) was seen capturing and devouring a frog
tadpole (Indirana sp., Ranixalidae) on the wet surface of a cliff near Satara, Western Ghats, India (photo by Sagar Satpute). B. Female Hyllus
treleaveni feeding on a gecko (Lygodactylus capensis) in South Africa (photo by Anton Roberts). C. Female Hyllus diardi feeding on a gecko
(Hemidactylus (frenatus?)) in Singapore (photo by Nikita Hengbok). D. Jumping spider (Paraphidippus cf. aurantius) is sucking out a Violet-
crowned Hummingbird hatchling (Amazilia violiceps) in a greenhouse in San Juan del Rio, Mexico (Photo by Matias Dominguez-Laso).
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NYFFELER ET AL.—VERTEBRATE-EATING JUMPING SPIDERS REVISITED 399

(University of Massachusetts) for sharing with us their expert
knowledge on spider toxins. Comments of Yael Lubin (Ben-Gurion
University) and an anonymous reviewer helped to improve the
manuscript. Finally, we wish to thank the photographers/authors
Javed Ahmed, Matias Dominguez-Laso, Nikita Hengbok, David
Hill, Anton Roberts, Ver´
onica Carolina Rosas-Espinoza, and Sagar
Satpute for permission to use their photos.
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Figure 2.—Adult female Phidippus audax jumping spider had entered a nestbox and was approaching a nest of Poecile atricapillus (Paridae)
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