10 February 2011

The spider and the snail shell

BBC videos often cannot be embedded, so those interested will need to go to the link to view a fascinating two-minute segment narrated by David Attenborough.  The Olios coenobitus spider in Madagascar prefers to live inside empty snail shells; for additional protection, the spider uses its silk to pull the empty shell up in the air.
The spiders made significant effort to avoid predators, hauling shells up to 20 times their own weight for over half an hour.  "Just hiding in a shell on the ground would expose the spider to heat and ants, which are voracious predators of the desert ecosystem," said Mr Fiely. 
Via Oregon Expat.

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