Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) as Overlooked Predators of Anurans in the Neotropics

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  Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) as Overlooked Predators of Anurans in the Neotropics ABSTRACT 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. 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. 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. Our findings expand current knowledge of Opiliones ecology by confirming that vertebrate predation occurs across multiple species and localities. Our results suggest that vertebrate consumption...

Grand challenges in arachnid genetics and biomaterials

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Grand challenges in arachnid genetics and biomaterials

Arachnids, particularly spiders, flourish in abundance within most ecosystems (Blamires et al., 2007; Oxbrough and Ziesche, 2013; Henneken et al., 2022; Agnarsson, 2023; Fonseca-Ferreira et al., 2023). Arachnids such as spiders, scorpions and mites create and/or secrete a range of biomaterials, including silks, glues, adhesives, nano-fibres, venoms and other toxins, and chitin associated molecules used to form sensory systems, armour, body colouration/luminescence, and locomotion (Kuntner, 2022). Studies focusing on the evolutionary and ecological aspects of these kinds of arachnid secretory products have established that extended phenotypic features enable arachnids their immense niche flexibility (Agnarsson et al., 2010; Blamires et al., 2012a; Blamires and Tso, 2013; Blamires et al., 2017a; Blamires et al., 2017b; Lacava et al., 2018; Viera et al., 2019; Henneken et al., 2022; Kuntner, 2022). Nonetheless, the genetic features and the expression patterns implicit in facilitating this flexibility remain largely unexplored.


Blamires, S. J. (2024). Grand challenges in arachnid genetics and biomaterials. Frontiers in Arachnid Science, 3, 1356170. https://doi.org/10.3389/frchs.2024.1356170