World News for Students of English

27-06-2014 07:00

Spiders that can catch and eat fish! Scientists have discovered a number of spider species that do just that!

More than 80 incidences of fish-eating semiaquatic spiders have been observed at the fringes of shallow freshwater streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.

Some are capable of swimming and, believe it or not, walking on the water’s surface.

Water spiders have been observed eating fish, as they generally have powerful neurotoxins and enzymes enabling them to kill and digest fish that are bigger and heavier than them.

The phenomenon appears to be more common in warmer areas, with fish captured by spiders usually ranging from two to six centimetres in length.

The fish is then dragged to a dry place before the feeding process can begin. Eating can last for several hours. Most incidents have been documented in North America, especially in the wetlands of Florida.

Difficult words: species (animal kind), incidence (example), semiaquatic (living partly on land and partly in water), fringe (outer area), neurotoxin (poison which acts on the nervous system), enzyme (substance which helps with digestion), digest (to process food in your body), phenomenon (something that exists in nature and is studied), wetland (swamp area).

Source: www.itn.co.uk

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