A number of families of spiders with populations around the world have been found to prey on fish as well as insects.
Researchers have become increasingly aware that spiders are not exclusively insectivorous, and five families of spiders have been found to also prey on fish, according to a systematic review published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The fish-hunting spiders typically live near shallow freshwater streams or swamps, and some are capable of swimming, diving, and walking along the surface of the water. They use powerful neurotoxins to catch their prey, which can be larger than them in size, before digesting them with the help of specialized enzymes.
Study co-author Martin Nyffeler said:
“he finding of such a large diversity of spiders engaging in fish predation is novel. Our evidence suggests that fish might be an occasional prey item of substantial nutritional importance”.
