Report of the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini (Araneae: Theraphosidae) feeding on the Southern house wren Troglodytes musculus (Aves: Troglodytidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Reports of tarantulas feeding on birds are rare and were a matter of intense debate among naturalists for centuries. The first account dates from the early eighteenth century by the German naturalist Marie Sibylla Merian, and since then only a few reliable predation events have been published. We herein report on a predation event by the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini Bertani, 2012 on two Southern house wrens Troglodytes musculus Naumann, 1823 in Brazil. The spider, a male, was found feeding on a young bird on a signpost made of two wooden posts, at dusk. The following day, one of the posts was removed and the spider was found feeding on a second young bird on its nest. We also update and discuss the identification of the theraphosids involved in predation events reported in previous works.