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Headline: Caught on camera: Daddy longlegs eating FROGS in South American rainforest
Caption: **VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT INFO@COVERMG.COM TO RECEIVE** BY MARK WORGAN Daddy longlegs have been documented catching and consuming live frogs larger than themselves in South American rainforests in terrifying new footage and photos. While previous scientific literature has recorded occasional interactions between daddy longlegs, otherwise known as harvestmen, and frogs, those reports were largely anecdotal. Researchers have now described what they say are the first detailed field observations of the arachnids preying on frogs, known scientifically as anurans. Because arthropods are typically much smaller than vertebrates, they are usually portrayed as the prey rather than the predator. “Arthropods are traditionally viewed as invertebrate prey and as predators of other invertebrates, whereas vertebrates are typically considered their predators. However, this paradigm has increasingly been challenged, particularly among arachnids,” the authors of a new study, led by Luís Fernando García, write. “While several invertebrates are well documented as frog predators, the capacity of particular groups, such as harvestmen (Opiliones), to prey on vertebrates has remained largely anecdotal.” Their work documents frogs being preyed upon by harvestmen belonging to the family Cranaidae, suggesting such interactions may be more common than previously recognised. The scientists add: “Here we report novel field observations of anuran predation by multiple Cranaidae harvestman species across several Neotropical localities. These records include the active capture and consumption of live frogs, demonstrating their role as opportunistic mesopredators.” The researchers emphasised that they did not collect specimens during the field observations. Instead, their evidence is based entirely on photographic records. The team reviewed four separate predation events involving Cranaidae harvestmen at sites across the tropics. Harvestmen are generally considered slow, fragile and defenceless, while frogs are larger, faster and highly mobile. Because harvestmen do not possess venom, the researchers believe they rely on powerful raptorial pedipalps – claw-like appendages – to seize their prey. These pedipalps are armed with prominent spines and that allows them to firmly restrain the frog while feeding. The team suggests the arachnids may grip strategic parts of the amphibian's body to restrict its movement. Similar methods of immobilising prey have been observed in predatory beetles of the genus Epomis. The researchers also say some of the frogs may already have been at a disadvantage before they were attacked, possibly because they were sleeping, injured or otherwise weakened. One of the frog species observed in the study is classified as threatened, raising potential conservation implications. The findings have been published in Ecology and Evolution.
Keywords: feature,photo,video,daddy long legs,frog
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