Abstract
Scavenging appears to be a conserved but flexible characteristic among spiders. Although scavenging behavior is well documented in captivity, observations in the wild are rarely witnessed. During a road ecology survey on 6 September 2021, I observed an adult male desert blonde tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) scavenging upon a road-killed neonate western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). The tarantula did not react defensively to my slow approach, and I observed its chelicerae working into the snake’s soft tissue. Observations of theraphosids scavenging are quite rare, and this may be the first reported instance of tarantula scavenging upon a reptilian carcass.
El consumo de carroña parece ser un carácter conservado pero flexible en las arañas. Aunque la conducta de carroñeo está bien documentada en cautiverio, raramente se ha presenciado en vida libre. El 6 de septiembre de 2021 durante un monitoreo de ecología de carreteras, observé un macho adulto de la tarántula rubia del desierto occidental (Aphonopelma chalcodes) carroñando a una serpiente de cascabel de diamantes (Crotalus atrox) neonata. La tarántula no reaccionó defensivamente cuando me acerqué lentamente, y pude observar sus quelíceros trabajando en el tejido de la serpiente. Las observaciones de terafósidos consumiendo carroña son raros, y este es uno de los primeros reportes de una tarántula carroñando el cadáver de un reptil.
Recommended Citation
Blais, Brian R.
(2022)
"Scavenging of western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) by desert blonde tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) in Arizona,"
Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 82:
No.
1, Article 23.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol82/iss1/23