Abstract
The growing number of reports of spiders preying on bats over the past decade indicates that such events are more frequent than originally thought. The present note reports on the predation of a bat, Pteronotus personatus (Mormoopidae), by a tarantula spider, Lasiodora sp. (Theraphosidae). The event took place on the floor of the Urubu Cave in northeastern Brazil, and may be considered opportunistic, as in the majority of the cases of bat predation by these spiders. However, the high densities of both Pteronotus and Lasiodora in the cave suggest that this type of interaction may be relatively frequent.
Highlights
The growing number of reports of spiders preying on bats over the past decade indicates that such events are more frequent than originally thought
Nyfeler and Knörnschild (2013) refer to a number of records of spiders feeding on bats in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil (Lasiodora parahybana preying on an unidentiied bat), and India (Poecilotheria ruilata on Pipistrellus ceylonicus)
We present a new record of bat predation by a tarantula of the genus Lasiodora in Brazil
Summary
The growing number of reports of spiders preying on bats over the past decade indicates that such events are more frequent than originally thought. Spiders are generalist predators that feed primarily on insects (RIECHERT; LOCKLEY, 1984), some may prey occasionally on vertebrates (MCCORMICK; POLIS, 1982). The theraphosid spiders are efective predators of small vertebrates (MCCORMICK; POLIS, 1982) such as lizards (VIEIRA et al, 2012), frogs (MENIN et al, 2005), and bats (DAS et al, 2012).
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