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Author Topic: Australian Life and/or?  (Read 2266 times)

Leszek Piotrowski

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Australian Life and/or?
« on: July 12, 2017, 10:22:15 pm »

Caught this unusual scene,... seemed like the spider caught a big dinner,  well ,... not so sure all went as planned.
Made the image in mid evening,... hoping that the poor intruder would eventually get free. ... No!
When I came by next morning to see what happened,...  poor fellow/girl was still not free,(nor eaten),... but breathing.
Picked him/her from the web,.. gently untangled the tough web strands from the poor fellow/girl, and gently put him/her on the grass,.. with lots of water to keep him/her moist. Happy to say I think the fellow/girl lived for another day.,.. but the spider will need to wait for another meal,.. no doubt.

1/200 sec @F5.6 229mm ISO 1250 "cropped file"

If anyone can identify the actors,.. most appreciated.





« Last Edit: July 12, 2017, 10:26:13 pm by Leszek Piotrowski »
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Leszek, G

one iota

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2017, 03:37:56 am »

The spider is probably an Orb Weaver. The lizard looks like a Skink. What was your locality?
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Mahn England

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2017, 08:20:05 pm »

The spider is probably an Orb Weaver. The lizard looks like a Skink. What was your locality?

Agree with this.

JKoerner007

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2017, 08:27:13 pm »

Nice drama you captured ... and nice that you provided a rescue.

This one didn't end so well ...

Farmer

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2017, 03:36:01 am »

Could be an Elegant Rainbow Skink, but hard to tell the exact colouring.  http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/images/reptile-news/elegant-rainbowskink553.jpg

Can't pick the spider.  Could be an orb of some sort, but as others mentioned some location would help a lot.  There are over 2,400 species of spider in Australia :-)  This one appears not to be venomous, at least not to reptiles (which would be odd if that's what it routinely caught).  Seems like it was just waiting for the skink to die from being trapped.
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Phil Brown

Leszek Piotrowski

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2017, 09:01:53 am »

Thank you gentlemen. This was taken in Newcastle NSW Australia. The image stayed with me for quite a while,... guess I was struck by the "helpless" pose of the skink. Thanks for viewing and responding. John, after looking at the image you attached,... this is what I thought might be the demise of the skink,.... but wasn't sure if it was on the Orb's diet. Rescued it anyway.
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Leszek, G

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2017, 11:21:44 am »

Thanks for viewing and responding. John, after looking at the image you attached,... this is what I thought might be the demise of the skink,.... but wasn't sure if it was on the Orb's diet. Rescued it anyway.

Spiders will usually take whatever they can overpower and get. Typically, this does not involve vertebrates due to the size differences. However, some spider species are large enough to take vertebrates, particularly young ones. There is something 'not right' about that, emotionally, to me as well. (I realize morality has no place in nature, where 'it is what it is' prevails; still, it's a bizarre thing to see at any rate.) That said, I would have rescued the one I saw as well ... but it was too late for that.

John Cothron

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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2017, 10:08:49 am »

Nice drama you captured ... and nice that you provided a rescue.

This one didn't end so well ...

That's some sort of Lynx spider isn't it?  I've never seen one big enough to take on that size prey.
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Re: Australian Life and/or?
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2017, 10:23:17 pm »

That's some sort of Lynx spider isn't it?

Yes, the Green Lynx (Peucetia viridans)



I've never seen one big enough to take on that size prey.

The photo is deceptive.

It's a pretty big specimen, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The lizard isn't an adult ... but a tiny, recent hatchling ... so it's not like some monster spider or anything, just a good-sized one on a recently-hatched (never-to-grow-up :() lizard.
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