Understanding habitat selection and natural history of the spider Deinopis cf. cylindracea (Deinopidae)
Habitat selection is fundamental for an animal’s foraging, defense and reproduction. Giant spiders are known for their unusual morphology, natural history and rarity. They are ambush predators, building web-like webs that the spider manipulates and throws at its prey. Hunting behavior includes selecting a microhabitat for building a web to reduce the chances of damage or entanglement in the substrate when capturing prey. Therefore, Deinopis reference. Yellow fleabane They choose smooth surfaces to find food. D. reference. Yellow fleabane Related to smooth trunks Plinia cauliflora (Myrtaceae) in natural habitats and in controlled experiments, we found that they actively selected smooth stems over rough stems and leaf litter. Such selection likely maximizes their foraging strategy of building webs towards the substrate. Aggregations occurred more frequently on the 50 cm of stems closest to the ground, where the prey community is largest. During the day, the spider appears to select sites that allow it to adopt a pole-like posture on vegetation close to the ground. Hunting at night and resting hidden during the day appears to be shaped by natural selection for the survival and reproduction of this spider species.
Villanueva-Bonilla, G. A., Stefani, V., Ponte, R. P. da ., & Vasconcellos-Neto, J.. (2024). Understanding the habitat selection and natural history of the spider Deinopis cf. cylindracea (Deinopidae). Brazilian Journal of Biology, 84, e284487. https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.284487
