Report of the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini (Araneae: Theraphosidae) feeding on the Southern house wren Troglodytes musculus (Aves: Troglodytidae) in Brazil

Reports of tarantulas feeding on birds are rare and were a matter of intense debate among naturalists for centuries. The first account dates from the early eighteenth century by the German naturalist Marie Sibylla Merian, and since then only a few reliable predation events have been published. We herein report on a predation event by the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma vanini Bertani, 2012 on two Southern house wrens Troglodytes musculus Naumann, 1823 in Brazil. The spider, a male, was found feeding on a young bird on a signpost made of two wooden posts, at dusk. The following day, one of the posts was removed and the spider was found feeding on a second young bird on its nest. We also update and discuss the identification of the theraphosids involved in predation events reported in previous works.

Automated summary

Reports of tarantulas feeding on birds are rare, with only a few reliable events published in the scientific literature. This paper presents a case of predation by an arboreal tarantula in Brazil. The study also updates and discusses the identification of theraphosids involved in previous predation events.