That's not a spider. THIS is a spider.
March 5, 2019 2:39 AM Subscribe
The video, which shows a Pamphobeteus eating a small opossum,
As long as it’s just a small one, ok.
And yes, I suspect all predator-prey interactions are disturbing for the prey. Even if the prey is a hat, hat_eater.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:25 AM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]
As long as it’s just a small one, ok.
And yes, I suspect all predator-prey interactions are disturbing for the prey. Even if the prey is a hat, hat_eater.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:25 AM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]
I have to wonder then if the office of the Vice-President of Communication of the University of Michigan is ran by opossums or just strives to present a pan-mammalian perspective on the predator-prey interactions. Or perhaps pan-praedan.
posted by hat_eater at 3:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by hat_eater at 3:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have to wonder then if the office of the Vice-President of Communication of the University of Michigan is ran by opossums
tell Daphne to run a 199 on a possible Doolittle
posted by flabdablet at 3:51 AM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]
tell Daphne to run a 199 on a possible Doolittle
posted by flabdablet at 3:51 AM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]
Nature is marvelous and strange, and I will be taking all of your words on this and not clicking the link.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 3:54 AM on March 5, 2019 [16 favorites]
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 3:54 AM on March 5, 2019 [16 favorites]
He also said that “finding a spider eating another mammal is unexpected.”
I, uh, has anyone looked into these researchers' credentials?
posted by solotoro at 5:04 AM on March 5, 2019 [23 favorites]
I, uh, has anyone looked into these researchers' credentials?
posted by solotoro at 5:04 AM on March 5, 2019 [23 favorites]
menstration march is getting pretty six legged with all these spider posts
posted by wires at 5:10 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by wires at 5:10 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
NO
posted by Blienmeis at 5:18 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Blienmeis at 5:18 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
~The video, which shows a Pamphobeteus eating a small opossum,
~As long as it’s just a small one, ok.
Yeah, but you should have seen the size of the opossum it had to kill to get to the small one.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:30 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
~As long as it’s just a small one, ok.
Yeah, but you should have seen the size of the opossum it had to kill to get to the small one.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:30 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
Notice the filming stopped when the spider turned TOWARDS the camera and started approaching? Yeah, gives that go towards the light a new 8 legged meaning.
posted by jadepearl at 5:32 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by jadepearl at 5:32 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
I move to burninate.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:49 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:49 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
So, IT: Chapter 2 is looking great.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:28 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:28 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
One of the major reasons that I'm pro NASA and human spaceflight is that there are no spiders in space.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:32 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:32 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
Do the spiders from Mars count? Or I suppose those are planetary spiders by definition.
posted by museum of fire ants at 6:37 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by museum of fire ants at 6:37 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
I know an old spider who swallowed a fly
bird
possum (tasted awesome!)
cat
dog
goat
cow
horse
old lady
posted by rongorongo at 6:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
cat
dog
goat
cow
horse
old lady
posted by rongorongo at 6:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
Nuke the entire site from orbit--it's the only way to be sure.
posted by signal at 6:57 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by signal at 6:57 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
He also said that “finding a spider eating another mammal is unexpected.”
Yes, previously researchers assumed that spiders dislike the taste of mammals. They typically try one and then in the future, make up a mammal allergy to avoid offending their host.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:14 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
Yes, previously researchers assumed that spiders dislike the taste of mammals. They typically try one and then in the future, make up a mammal allergy to avoid offending their host.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:14 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
strives to present a pan-mammalian perspective on the predator-prey interactions.
Totally exclusionary I think. Spiders and possums and primates, we're all children of Urbilateria. Now if it were a stinkin' cnidarian preying on the thing . . .
posted by mark k at 7:15 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
Totally exclusionary I think. Spiders and possums and primates, we're all children of Urbilateria. Now if it were a stinkin' cnidarian preying on the thing . . .
posted by mark k at 7:15 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
WHY?WHY?WHY?DID I CLICK???
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 7:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 7:41 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
One of the major reasons that I'm pro NASA and human spaceflight is that there are no spiders in space.
Check out the book, "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's about humanity being prevented from colonizing other planets by people being stupid on Earth, and one rogue scientist releases a virus on another planet that's supposed to accelerate evolutionary/sentient development in primates, so that she can come back in umpteen years and have a world of helpful monkey servants. Problem is, the scientists who created the virus engineered it to be contagious only to primates within all the animal kingdom, but forgot to keep bugs out of the loop. As a result, the dominating evolutionary species turns out to be spiders.
The book is mediocre, but there's a pretty great scene where spiders first launch into space.
And wasn't there an article about how the reason humans became more intelligent was because they ate meat? Ah, yes. Who knows, a million years from now, our 8-legged planetary heirs might boldly go where no man has gone before.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:19 AM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]
Check out the book, "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's about humanity being prevented from colonizing other planets by people being stupid on Earth, and one rogue scientist releases a virus on another planet that's supposed to accelerate evolutionary/sentient development in primates, so that she can come back in umpteen years and have a world of helpful monkey servants. Problem is, the scientists who created the virus engineered it to be contagious only to primates within all the animal kingdom, but forgot to keep bugs out of the loop. As a result, the dominating evolutionary species turns out to be spiders.
The book is mediocre, but there's a pretty great scene where spiders first launch into space.
And wasn't there an article about how the reason humans became more intelligent was because they ate meat? Ah, yes. Who knows, a million years from now, our 8-legged planetary heirs might boldly go where no man has gone before.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:19 AM on March 5, 2019 [6 favorites]
See, this, this is why we need to render the planet incapable of supporting life.
posted by Naberius at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
$Deity the plate sized spider wasn't all that disturbing but the story of the frog dieing at the end of the clip is nightmare fuel for a week. I'm having a hard time imagining a more horrific way to die than to have a maggot eat one from the inside out.
posted by Mitheral at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
I came to be terrified, but that opossum was tiny, and I was actually a little disappointed. Regular opossums are 1) vicious and 2) much larger than dinner plates; therefore I think one could easily protect me from that spider if I paid it enough.
posted by pangolin party at 8:29 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by pangolin party at 8:29 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
Nope nope nope nope noooooooope. Nope.
posted by allkindsoftime at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by allkindsoftime at 8:38 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
A possum (or opossum, I still don't know the difference) killed my wonderful chicken Ruth, but on the other hand I hate big spiders. I don't know which side I'm on here.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:46 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:46 AM on March 5, 2019 [2 favorites]
Nope nope nope nope noooooooope. Nope.
I decided to stop at 3 in my tags.
posted by scalefree at 8:49 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
I decided to stop at 3 in my tags.
posted by scalefree at 8:49 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
Aaaand this is making our unseasonable cold snap so much more enjoyable. Although I will be paying strict attention when I stick my hand into the woodpile, thankyouverymuch.
posted by TrishaU at 9:00 AM on March 5, 2019
posted by TrishaU at 9:00 AM on March 5, 2019
Go Blue?
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:18 AM on March 5, 2019
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:18 AM on March 5, 2019
bad
posted by Drexen at 10:08 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Drexen at 10:08 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
It seemed sort of embarrassed.
It was kind of cute.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:16 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
It was kind of cute.
posted by schadenfrau at 10:16 AM on March 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
To overcome the spider's curse, simply quote a Bible verse
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 10:25 AM on March 5, 2019
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 10:25 AM on March 5, 2019
One of the major reasons that I'm pro NASA and human spaceflight is that there are no spiders in space.
Psh, how do you know that? For all we know Alpha Centauri is home to countless Camry-sized murderous spiders.
posted by axiom at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2019
Psh, how do you know that? For all we know Alpha Centauri is home to countless Camry-sized murderous spiders.
posted by axiom at 10:50 AM on March 5, 2019
Now where's the vid for the foot long tarantula hawks to keep the dinner plate sized tarantulas in check?
posted by Redhush at 4:14 PM on March 5, 2019
posted by Redhush at 4:14 PM on March 5, 2019
A possum (or opossum, I still don't know the difference)
Opossum is North American Didelphidae (grey/white), possum is Australian Phalangeridae (tawny gold)
Both terms are used for the NA grey/white ones colloquially, though, while the Aussie possums were apparently given the name from European settlers who somehow found them similar (="the animal that goes through our trash", perhaps)
posted by lesser weasel at 11:48 PM on March 5, 2019
Opossum is North American Didelphidae (grey/white), possum is Australian Phalangeridae (tawny gold)
Both terms are used for the NA grey/white ones colloquially, though, while the Aussie possums were apparently given the name from European settlers who somehow found them similar (="the animal that goes through our trash", perhaps)
posted by lesser weasel at 11:48 PM on March 5, 2019
A possum (or opossum)
Don't confuse those. If they come into contact you will experience a huge burst of gamma radiation.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:52 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
Don't confuse those. If they come into contact you will experience a huge burst of gamma radiation.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:52 PM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]
Notclickingnotclickingcnotclickingnotclicking
posted by sarcasticah at 8:39 AM on March 6, 2019
posted by sarcasticah at 8:39 AM on March 6, 2019
> Monster Amazonian spider carries off its prey - a dead opossum.
You typed those words, and I read them, and yet I still clicked. Why? What did I think it would be? Did I think it would be pleasant? What were you thinking, me-of-45-seconds-ago?
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:50 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]
You typed those words, and I read them, and yet I still clicked. Why? What did I think it would be? Did I think it would be pleasant? What were you thinking, me-of-45-seconds-ago?
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:50 PM on March 6, 2019 [2 favorites]
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Biologists documented a total of 15 “rare and disturbing predator-prey interactions,” and referred to the study as the “stuff of nightmares,” according to the University of Michigan.
I'd hate to be the biologist whose work is described by the PR department as documenting something that's "disturbing" and "stuff of nightmares", but I'd be even more upset if someone claimed that it was I who described it as such.
posted by hat_eater at 2:47 AM on March 5, 2019 [8 favorites]