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10 December 2021 Report of the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini (Araneae: Theraphosidae) feeding on the Southern house wren Troglodytes musculus (Aves: Troglodytidae) in Brazil
Rogério Bertani, Adriano Oliveira Maciel
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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.

Rogério Bertani and Adriano Oliveira Maciel "Report of the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini (Araneae: Theraphosidae) feeding on the Southern house wren Troglodytes musculus (Aves: Troglodytidae) in Brazil," The Journal of Arachnology 49(3), 393-396, (10 December 2021). https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-20-073
Received: 21 September 2020; Published: 10 December 2021
KEYWORDS
Aviculariinae
Cerrado
predator-prey
spider predation
trophic interaction
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