Parasitic worm forces tarantulas to tiptoe, then starves them to death
Researchers have discovered a new species of parasitic worm that makes its home in the mouths of tarantulas — then slowly starves the spiders to death.
The worms first appear as white splotches around a tarantula's mouth, according to a new study published Jan. 17 in The Journal of Parasitology. After being infected, the arachnid host loses control of the appendages that control its fangs, then stops eating. Infected tarantulas may also show other strange behaviors, such as walking on their tiptoes, the study authors wrote. ...
"It may take months because tarantulas don't have to eat particularly often," study co-author Adler Dillman, a parasitologist ... , said in a statement. "However, if they get this infection, they will die of starvation."
Dillman and his colleagues first took note of the killer worms in 2018, when a wholesale tarantula breeder reported multiple unusual deaths among his stock. Each of the affected tarantulas showed a strange white discharge around their mouths. This wasn't spider spit-up, Dillman realized right away: It was a tangled mass of parasitic worms called nematodes, living inside the spiders' fly-holes. ...
The researchers also learned that the nematodes only infected their hosts' mouth areas, leaving the rest of the spider untouched and unharmed.
Still, because of the newly discovered worm's spider-slaying prowess, the team gave the species a name with a bit of Hollywood cache: Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi — named for American actor Jeff Daniels. ...
"When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, 'Why? Is there a resemblance?'" Daniels joked ...
In reality, the name is an homage to Daniels' starring role in the 1990 comedy thriller "Arachnophobia," in which his character saves a small town from a deadly spider infestation. ...
