Dying gecko seen hanging lifelessly from the sharp fangs of a monstrous WOLF SPIDER
The 'enormous' arachnid dangled the lizard, sinking its fangs into the gecko's neck and injecting it with poisonous venom, slowly killing it
A DYING gecko has been captured hanging lifelessly from the sharp fangs of a monstrous WOLF SPIDER in Australia.
Despite being much bigger, the defeated lizard had no choice but to hang lifelessly from its eight-legged captor's fangs as the spider patiently waited for its dinner to die.
Initially Dan Ryan thought the spider and gecko were a stick and a leaf.
But on closer inspection the father-of-three was stunned to find the 'enormous' wolf spider dangling the lizard, sinking its fangs into its neck and injecting it with venom, slowly killing it last Saturday, February 24.
The 35-year-old took a picture because it was "the most bizarre and creepy thing" he and his wife Vicki had ever seen near their suburban home in Brisbane.
Wolf spiders usually feast on insect prey such as crickets, ants and other spiders and are rarely seen hunting prey so large.
Dan said: "I quickly ran back to the kids and shielded their eyes and told them to get in the car.
"I didn't want them to see it as they're all under six and just too young. It would scare them.
"I've never seen a gecko being killed by a spider like that, and it's quite shocking because the gecko was longer in length, but obviously this spider went after bigger prey and won.
"I guess the spider eventually dragged the gecko away to eat it. I never saw it again."
According to the Australasian Arachnology Society, wolf spiders can be found all around Australia and should be considered dangerous because their bite is poisonous - although not lethal to humans.
Wolf spiders are solo opportunistic hunters that pounce upon their prey as they find it and will even chase it over short distances, sometimes even waiting for passing prey - which Dan believed is what might have happened in this case.
He added: "The fence paling is dislodged, so I think the spider was hiding in there, and when the gecko came past he grabbed it.
"We live in a really leafy area and we've seen plenty of snakes and spiders, but nothing quite like this."
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