Biologists working in the Amazon have observed for the first time a tarantula 'the size of a dinner plate' eating an opossum.
Researchers from the University of Michigan based themselves in Peru to seek out examples of invertebrates hunting the likes of lizards, snakes and frogs.
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One sight they didn't expect to see was a large mygalomorph spider - commonly known as a tarantula -hunting and eating an opossum.
Michael Grundler, a PhD student on the research team said in a statement for the university the spider was "the size of a dinner plate".
"The opossum had already been grasped by the tarantula and was still struggling weakly at that point, but after about 30 seconds it stopped kicking.
"We were pretty ecstatic and shocked, and we couldn't really believe what we were seeing," Grundler says.
"We knew we were witnessing something pretty special, but we weren't aware that it was the first observation until after the fact."
The research team most-commonly observed tarantulas preying on frogs but also saw centipedes eating snakes one a coral snake which is venomous and can kill humans.
Newshub.
