PREDATION OF THE GRANULAR GLASS FROG Cochranella granulosa (CENTROLENIDAE) BY THE SPIDER Eriophora edax (ARANEIDAE)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2025.1.1159Keywords:
Amphibians, Costa Rica, diet, orb-webs, preyAbstract
Although numerous reports document frog predation by spiders, this interaction remains poorly understood. Most predation events between frogs and spiders are attributed to fossorial and wandering spiders, with only 9 % involving web-building spiders. The Granular Glass frog, Cochranella granulosa, is relatively common in Costa Rica, particularly in lowland and montane rainforests. Here, we report a case of predation involving this frog by the spider Eriophora edax, a nocturnal orb-weaver that constructs large, strong webs capable of capturing small flying vertebrates. This observation took place on 6 October 2017 at 21:50 h on the Atenas campus of the Universidad Técnica Nacional in Costa Rica. This incident marks only the second recorded instance of Eriophora edax preying on vertebrates. We present and discuss this case in the context of other documented instances of frog predation by spiders.
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