Researchers at Åbo University can identify 60 new cases of partnerships between bird spiders and amphibians, such as frogs and toads, from ten different countries. But also with snakes and other spider animals.
The literature study, published in the journal Journal of Natural History, shows that the interactions, which they sometimes call cohabitation, are often mutually beneficial.
Frogs and toads living in the bird spiders' territories are protected from their predators. In turn, they feed on insects that can be harmful to the spider, says Alireza Zamani, researcher and one of the article authors, in a recorded clip.
The researchers believe that one of the most important results is the hypothesis about why bird spiders are so hairy: it may have developed as a defense mechanism against predatory ants. The dense hair covering the spiders' bodies makes it difficult for the ants to bite or sting the spider.
Instead, a cooperation has developed where certain ants, which normally attack a variety of arthropods, enter the spider's "mouth" and collect food leftovers, something that benefits both parties.
