A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation?

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  A pseudoscorpion clinging to a cave salamander: phoresy or failed predation? Abstract Pseudoscorpions are well known for phoretic associations with arthropods, but interactions with amphibians are rarely documented. Here we report a pseudoscorpion attached to the left palpebral region of an adult male Italian cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus , observed during a visual survey in a karst cave in Tuscany, Italy. The pseudoscorpion, assigned on the basis of visible morphology and locality to Chthonius cf. elongatus , was grasping a minute cutaneous fold on the lower margin of the left upper eyelid with one chela while the salamander moved slowly over the rock surface. No handling was performed and the initial contact between the two animals was not observed. The event therefore cannot be interpreted unambiguously, but may represent opportunistic phoresy or defensive attachment following a failed predation attempt. To our knowledge, this is the first published observation of a ...

Predation on a juvenile Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) by a tarantula (Stichoplastoris denticulatus) in Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Costa Rica

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Predation on a juvenile Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) by a tarantula (Stichoplastoris denticulatus) in Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Costa Rica

The Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) is a mostly nocturnal and terrestrial species that inhabits lowland and foothill rain-forests and altered habitats (e.g., agricultural areas, pastures, and human settlements) from northern Mexico to the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador at elevations of 0–1,500 m  asl  (Leenders  2016;  Savage  2002).  Few  predators  are  known to target adults but raptors (e.g., Laughing Falcons, Herpetotheres  cacchinans;  Swallow-tailed  Kites,  Elanoides forficatus; and Crane Hawks, Geranospiza caerulescens) and snakes (e.g., Mussuranas, Clelia clelia, and possibly Central American  Indigo  Snakes,  Drymarchon  melanurus)  might  prey on them (Sasa et al. 2009).

Villegas, S., Charlyn Elizondo Montano, & Justin Rodríguez Castro. (2026). Predation on a juvenile Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) by a tarantula (Stichoplastoris denticulatus) in Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Costa Rica. Reptiles & Amphibians, 33(1), e23400. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v32i1.23400