| Title |
David and Goliath: potent venom of an ant-eating spider (Araneae) enables capture of a giant prey
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, May 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-014-1189-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Stano Pekár, Onřej Šedo, Eva Líznarová, Stanislav Korenko, Zdeněk Zdráhal |
| Abstract |
It is rare to find a true predator that repeatedly and routinely kills prey larger than itself. A solitary specialised ant-eating spider of the genus Zodarion can capture a relatively giant prey. We studied the trophic niche of this spider species and investigated its adaptations (behavioural and venomic) that are used to capture ants. We found that the spider captures mainly polymorphic Messor arenarius ants. Adult female spiders captured large morphs while tiny juveniles captured smaller morphs, yet in both cases ants were giant in comparison with spider size. All specimens used an effective prey capture strategy that protected them from ant retaliation. Juvenile and adult spiders were able to paralyse their prey using a single bite. The venom glands of adults were more than 50 times larger than those of juvenile spiders, but the paralysis latency of juveniles was 1.5 times longer. This suggests that this spider species possesses very potent venom already at the juvenile stage. Comparison of the venom composition between juvenile and adult spiders did not reveal significant differences. We discovered here that specialised capture combined with very effective venom enables the capture of giant prey. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 14 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 3 | 21% |
| Canada | 1 | 7% |
| Unknown | 10 | 71% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 14 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 36 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 36 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 7 | 19% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 17% |
| Researcher | 4 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 4 | 11% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 3 | 8% |
| Other | 7 | 19% |
| Unknown | 5 | 14% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 19 | 53% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 5 | 14% |
| Unspecified | 1 | 3% |
| Environmental Science | 1 | 3% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 2 | 6% |
| Unknown | 7 | 19% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 44. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 16 January 2022.
All research outputs
#854,003
of 23,866,543 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#119
of 2,200 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#8,594
of 229,367 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#6
of 24 outputs
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We're also able to compare this research output to 24 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 79% of its contemporaries.