There are certain places where you can expect to encounter spiders. In the corners, under the benches in the park, you can expect spiders on the branches. But you probably wouldn’t expect to encounter a spider underwater. Surprisingly, Lindsey Swierk, a biologist at Binghamton University in New York, discovered the existence of a spider that can hide underwater for 30 minutes.
The impressive spider was avoiding humans and used a stream as a shelter. A paper co-authored by Swierk, showing the spider’s diving behavior, was published last month in the journal Ethology.
According to the World Spider Catalogue, Trechalea extensa spread from Mexico to Panama and lives near streams. “They easily bite the collector’s hand,” wrote a 1993 study describing the spider. “For many species, getting wet and cold is almost as risky for survival as dealing with their predators in the beginning,” Swierk
told Binghamton on Monday. It was certainly not known how long it lasted.”
The secret to the spider’s underwater success seems to be a “film” of air held in place by hydrophobic body hairs. Swierk said the spider appears to be immersed in silver, suggesting that this film could keep the respiratory openings away from water and perhaps reduce heat loss from cold currents.
The spider’s underwater excursions appear to be an extreme measure that it uses to avoid a perceived threat. More observations of the spider’s unusual behavior could help scientists better understand how animals deal with predators.
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