PREDATION OF A DRAB STREAMSIDE TREE FROG Smilisca sordida (ANURA: HYLIDAE) BY THE BROMELIAD SPIDER (Cupiennius coccineus) IN NORTHWESTERN COSTA RICA

Abstract

Trechaleidae spiders may be one of the most frequent predators of small anurans in neotropical forests. In this family, the Bromeliad spider Cupiennius coccineus, one of the larger species of the genus, is known to predate on frogs. Three out of 15 spider predation events on frogs in Costa Rica were caused by this vegetation dweller species. A common hylid frog in Costa Rica is the Drab Streamside tree frog (Smilisca sordida) that normally forages on low vegetation in forested areas near streams. Here we present the first predation report of S. sordida by the Bromeliad spider C. coccineus based on an observation from the humid lowland forest of northwestern Costa Rica.