A small homage to Maria Sibylla Merian, and new records of spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae) preying on birds

João Vitor Campos E Silva,Fernanda Almeida De Meirelles

doi:10.1007/bf03544326

Abstract

Spiders have a great potential to prey on small vertebrates. However, detailed events are sparse in the literature. In the current work, two detailed records of Tarantula predation in the Brazilian Amazon are documented. Preying begins by bird’s eyes, which eases the inoculation and spread of the digestive enzymes. Maria Sibylla Merian described the predation of a bird by a Tarantula in a scientific illustration, though her descriptions were labeled as fanciful. The current work makes a small homage to this 17th Century naturalist that challenged the prejudice of her time with her artistic and scientific production.

Highlights

Reports involving the predation of vertebrates by invertebrates have been known for a long time in the scientific literature
In the case of birds and spiders, predation has been a strong link between the two groups: spiders are eaten in great quantity by insectivore birds (Sick 1997, Gunnarsson 2007) and, less frequently, birds become a part of the diet of some species of spider (Teixeira et al 1991, Peloso & Souza 2007). Humingbirds, such as Phaetornis petrei (Lesson & Delattre, 1839), Phaetornis ruber (Linnaeus, 1758) and Cloristibon sp., and even some passerine birds such as Sporophila caerulescens (Vieillot, 1823), Polioptila plumbea (Gmelin, 1788) and Todirostrum cinereum (Linnaeus, 1766) have been captured by the effective webs woven by spiders of the genus Nephila
This theme has sparked a peculiar case in the academic world, led by Maria Sibylla Merian, a Frankfurt-born naturalist in 1647

Summary

Introduction

Reports involving the predation of vertebrates by invertebrates have been known for a long time in the scientific literature. Spiders are the main predators, while crustaceans, centipedes and insects have been recorded as predators of small vertebrates (Teixeira et al 1991). In most cases the spider does not attack and recoils until the bird can free itself (Teixeira et al 1991, Duca & Modesto 2007, Peloso & Sousa 2007), because the web is a low selection trap that ends up trapping undesired prey (Ludy 2007).

Results

Conclusion