In the decade of 1840 a finding took place that left astonished to the scientific community of the moment. Inside a fragment of amber, that was 40 million years old, the fossilized body of a spider I had great resemblance to a pelican. The naturalists thought that there was nothing like "alive" in the whole planet, until decades later, in 1881, in Madagascar several species of the same type of arachnid were found: the a pelican rañas, spider cannibals that impale their victims and since then they have been studied. Join us to meet them.
Pelican spiders impale their victims
The Archaeidae are a family of spiders that have been described 70 species . They are also known as killer spiders or pelican spiders . As we have said, until 1881, when the first living specimens were discovered in Madagascar, it was believed that they had become extinct thousands of years ago.
Pelican spiders measure just over 5 mm. long and if they are known as cannibals or killers it's because only they feed on other spiders . The name of pelican spiders are given due to their anatomical shape because due to their elongated jaws and long necks make their appearance resemble that of that bird. This anatomical configuration is not free as they use their powerful jaws to impale with them to their victims.
Pelican spiders are great hunters, they go out at night and wander through the jungle in search of their victims. When they find a silk thread they follow it until they find the "congener" that will be their prey and their food. When he finds her, in a quick movement he impales her and moves his body away from the victim so as not to be hurt if he counterattacks. Wait patiently until the prey dies and then devours it.
In addition to in Madagascar , the pelican spiders can be found in Australia and in South Africa. Scientists consider that these spiders are "Living fossils" and that their ancestors were dispersed throughout the different continents when Pangea fragmented 175 million years ago.
On the island of Madagascar There is a large number of species that are not found in other parts of the world. It separated from Africa 165 million years ago and approximately 100 million years later India . Humans arrived a little over 2000 years ago to the island and at that time they still inhabited large endemic animals that disappeared.
Did you know the existence of the pelican spiders ? If you want to know another spectacular spider for its color we invite you to read the post: Poecilotheria metallica, the amazing and beautiful blue tarantula.
Images: Robert Whyte and Greg Andeson