Spiders catching fish? It happens more than you think! Entomologist Martin Nyffeler of the University of Basel in Switzerland and ecologist Bradley J. Pusey have collected reports and images of fish-eating spiders into one study. The spiders are not necessarily closely related, and they are found eating fish on every continent except Antarctica. Spiders can use surface tension to walk on the water’s surface and wait for prey, but they don’t all use the same technique. See a slideshow of different fish-eating spiders at Scientific American. The photo shown here shows an Ancylometes spider in Ecuador and his dinner. -via Digg
(Image credit: Ed Germain, Sydney, Australia. Courtesy of Martin Nyffeler, University of Basel.)
Dolomedes spiders are covered all over in short, velvety hairs which are unwettable (hydrophobic). This allows them to use surface tension to stand or run on the water, like pond skaters. They can also climb beneath the water, and then air becomes trapped in the body hairs and forms a thin film over the whole surface of the body and legs, giving them the appearance of fine polished silver. Like other spiders, Dolomedes breathe with book lungs beneath their abdomens, and these open into the air film, allowing the spiders to breathe while submerged.
Will the horror never cease?