Beyond Venom and Constriction: Bite Performance and Trophic Ecology in the Genus Drymarchon

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  Beyond Venom and Constriction: Bite Performance and Trophic Ecology in the Genus Drymarchon Abstract Snakes exhibit extreme cranial kinesis that facilitates ingestion of prey with large cross-sectional area, but this ability is widely predicted to reduce bite performance due to decreased structural rigidity. Consequently, most large-bodied snakes rely on envenomation or constriction to subdue prey prior to ingestion. Species within the genus Drymarchon represent a notable exception: these large, non-venomous, non-constricting snakes routinely consume a wide range of prey, including large and potentially dangerous vertebrates, using only simple seizing and pinioning behaviors. Here, we quantify bite performance in three species of Drymarchon ( D. corais, D. couperi, and D. melanurus ), examine morphological predictors of biting performance, compare biting pressure to constriction pressure in similarly sized snakes, and synthesize dietary records across the genus. Our results sh...

Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname)

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Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname)

ABSTRACT

Among invertebrates, spiders are regarded as a model group for sexual selection studies. However, our understanding of their mating behaviour is highly biased towards species in the infraorder Araneomorphae. Knowledge of the mating systems of mygalomorph spiders (infraorder Mygalomorphae) remains rudimentary at best. Here, we report on the mating behaviour of a recently described Australian wishbone spider (Anamidae: Aname inexpecta) from south-western Western Australia. In doing so, we present the first detailed observations of mating behaviour of a member of the family Anamidae and describe a remarkable, novel male sexual behaviour for mygalomorph spiders (‘burrow plugging’). This behaviour involves the male collecting soil with his chelicerae and placing it over the entrance to the female's burrow, sealing the entrance before actively guarding the plugged retreat. We provide some of the first insights into post-copulatory mate guarding in burrowing mygalomorph spiders, contributing to our understanding of mating systems in a group where such studies are rare.

Piccinini, A., Wilson, J. D., Harvey, M. S., Rix, M. G., N. Wong, K. S., & Simmons, L. W. (2026). Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Aname). Ecology and Evolution, 16(5), e73606. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73606