Thick as thieves! Stunning images capture the bizarre relationship between an enormous 8-INCH tarantula and a diminutive frog as the amphibian protects the arachnid’s eggs
- 8-inch wide arachnid was photographed below the Andes mountains in Peru
- The two animals enjoy a ‘commensal’ relationship where both benefit
- Frog protects the tarantula’s eggs from ants and the spider protects the tiny frog
Incredible images shows the unique relationship between an enormous tarantula and a frog who live side-by-side in the Amazonian rainforest.
The 8-inch wide arachnid was photographed below the Andes mountains in Peru and show the frog protecting the spider’s eggs.
A series of images taken by wandering Italian naturalist Emanuele Biggi also include shots of the mammoth spider eating a cockroach, towering over its amphibian partner in crime and even hundreds of hatched young feasting on a tree-frog.
But far from being a friendship – the unlikely pair enjoy a ‘commensal’ relationship – where both halves of the arrangement benefit.
The tarantula acts a bodyguard for its slimy ‘pet’ and the frog eats any ants threatening the arachnid’s eggs.
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The 8-inch wide arachnid was photographed below the Andes mountains in Peru and show the frog being used to protect the spider’s eggs
A series of images taken by wandering Italian naturalist Emanuele Biggi also include shots of the mammoth spider eating a cockroach and the spider towering over its amphibian partner in crime
‘I was totally blown away when I found the huge adult female living together with more than one frog and her already grown up spawn,’ Mr Biggi said.
‘Dozens of not so tiny spiders exited from the same burrow. Amazing.
‘It was definitely one of the biggest tarantulas I’ve ever seen too.
The two animals enjoy a ‘commensal’ relationship – where both halves of the arrangement benefit
The tarantula acts a bodyguard for its slimy pet and the frog eats any ants threatening the arachnid’s eggs.
‘I’d heard of the phenomena of spiders and frogs living together before, but I was still surprised to see it right in front of me.
‘Nobody has ever seen these two particular species co-habiting like this before.’
Mr Biggi, who presents wildlife shows in his native Italy, waited for darkness to fall in the rainforest while lying on his stomach in order to get the photographs.
‘As soon as it was dark, the frogs were the first to emerge, then tiny spiders, then the adult one last of all,’ he explained.
‘We saw them catching a cockroach and on other occasions even other frogs, but they never tried to catch and eat the humming frog.
‘The photos show how the frogs or the spiders even passed very close to each other without any trouble.
‘The frog is surely protected by the presence of this huge spider around, while we suspect that the frogs also give a help to the spider by keeping ants and spider’s parasite flies at bay into the burrow – but this is still to be scientifically proven.’
The photographer waited for darkness to fall in the rainforest while lying on his stomach in order to get the photographs
This image captured the gory moment the young spiders hatched from the eggs feast on a treefrog killed by their mother
