First instance of non-sexual cannibalism in Plexippus paykulli (Audouin) (Araneae: Salticidae) in India

Israel Journal of entomology, Vol. 54, pp. 113–115 (3 December 2025) sHort CommunICatIon First instance of non-sexual cannibalism in Plexippus paykulli (Audouin) (Araneae: Salticidae) in India Arajush Payra *, Nikhil Kuni & Pankaj Koparde Department of Environmental Studies, Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author: [email protected] spiders are predominantly obligate carnivores, feeding primarily on insects and often on other arachnids. a few larger species are also known to feed on small vertebrates such as birds, amphibians and reptiles. earlier, intraspecific predation or cannibalism was thought to be rare in spiders; however, in recent decades such behaviour has been found to be relatively common and widespread across different families (elgar & Crespi 1992). In nature, several forms of cannibalism have been documented in spiders. these include: (1) sexual cannibalism (females consume males before, during, or immediately after copulation) (arnqvist & Henriksson 1997; segoli et al. 2008; Boisseau et al. 2017); (2) reversed sexual cannibalism (males consume females) (Aisenberg & González 2011; Sentenská & Pekár 2013); (3) matriphagy or gerontophagy (newly hatched juveniles consume their own mother) (tripathi et al. 2020); (4) filial cannibalism (females consume their own eggs or young) (Wise 2006); (5) sibling cannibalism (siblings cannibalise one another) (Wise 2006); (6) oophagy (consumption of eggs, often of conspecifics) (Wise 2006); (7) non-sexual cannibalism, where females devour conspecific females (ahmed et al. 2019; Khalap 2022). Herein, we report an instance of non-sexual male cannibalism in Plexippus paykulli (audouin, 1826). Plexippus paykulli is a dimorphic salticid. males possess median white stripes on a black carapace and abdomen, whereas females are brownish, with a white me dial band on the thoracic region and a white median band accompanied by two subdorsal white spots on the posterior third of the abdomen (nentwig et al. 2025). Plexippus paykulli is widely pantropical and usually inhabits bushes, shrubs and human settlements (WsC 2025). on 25 may 2021, near Bara solemanpur Village (21.67210°N 87.57483°E) in Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal, India, the authors observed an unusual instance of cannibalism in which a male P. paykulli was seen consuming a conspecific male. the predator male was noticeably larger than the prey male (fig. 1), and the event lasted for about five minutes. male–male competition is well documented in spiders, and it usually occurs as a means of gaining access to females for mating (austad 1983; leimar et al. 1991). DoI: 10.5281/zenodo.17787293; Issn (online) 2224-6304 received: 24 november 2025 / revised: 2 December 2025 / accepted: 2 December 2025 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:290CDD94-02CD-4042-8f37-574eD9826ffe 114 Israel Journal of entomology, Vol. 54, 2025 male–male fights are highly ritualized and exhibit distinct behavioural patterns during combat, ranging from visual, vibratory, acoustic and tactile to chemical signals (schmitt et al. 1992). usually, larger males expel smaller males from the web or mating territory, and the combat may result in injuries or even the death of rivals (austad 1983). non-sexual cannibalism may occur due to limited food resources or unavailability of prey. 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