This site uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising.
By continuing to browse, you agree to the use of cookies described in our Cookies Policy.
You may change your settings at any time but this may impact on the functionality of the site.
To learn more see our
Cookies Policy.
Download our app
Fish-eating spiders exist, and here is horrifying proof
A fishing spider, lying in wait YouTube / National Geographic YouTube / National Geographic / National Geographic
FISH-EATING SPIDERS are a real, actual thing.
Yes. A newly-released scientific study has noted several species of spider catching and eating fish. And they live all around the world, on every continent except Antarctica.
“Our finding of such a large diversity of spider families being engaged in fish predation is novel,” wrote the researchers in Plos One.
Here is a wolf spider eating a fish:
The average fish caught by the spiders in the study was 2.2 times the size of the spider itself.
Here is an exceptionally large example of a spider from Cameroon enjoying a fish dinner:
The spiders typically wait just above the surface of the water, then use their front legs to catch their prey as it swims by.
Like this spider eating a frog.
You can read the whole study here.
More: 6 of the most ridiculous entries in the FBI’s dictionary of internet slang>
More: You’ve been cutting cake wrong your entire life>
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
arachnids Arachnophobia fish dinner fish-eating spiders Nature Science Spiders