An alluring meal or a luring trap? Ways animals deceive and entice their prey

If pizza didn’t cost extra to get delivered, I doubt anyone would ever make all that effort to drive ALL the way to the store, wait around cos it still isn’t finished and then drive ALL the way home again. We would much rather our meals came to us. The same goes for animals.

There are many deceptive animals out there that will do anything to get out of having go and hunt for their food. Many have to chase their prey and this often requires a lot of energy. In some cases, the predator may even risk their life in the pursuit of their prey. Obviously, it is much more beneficial for the animal to save this energy if it can, so what is the logical course of action to take? Lure your prey in!

Cantil snake (Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori) displaying its tail

(Source: The Gardens of Eden. Image by Kerr)

Cantil

Found in northern Mexico and Central America (ref), the highly poisonous Cantil snakes (Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori) are rather stocky snakes and for that reason are pretty hopeless at moving at any great speed (Parkinson, et al., 2000). To obtain their prey they use the tip of their tail. The tip of their tail is thin and often yellow or off white in contrast to their thick dark coloured bodies and resembles a wriggling worm; the prey of many of the Cantil snakes favourite food. A little critter will then come along, see a delightful treat and end up becoming the treat for the Cantil snake instead.

Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) displaying its tongue

(Source: 8tracks, Image by unknown)

Snapping turtle

Alligator snapping turtles are slow moving and rather good at looking like a rock. In order to catch their prey they sit at the bottom of the water with their mouth open wiggling their tongue in the current to make it look like a little worm and wait (East, et al., 2013). Eventually an intrigued fish will come along and the alligator snapping turtle will bear down on the unsuspecting fish with the second strongest jaw pressure bite of any other animal in the world!

Tasselled Wobbegong Shark (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon)

(Source: svdelos.blogspot.com. Image by unknown)

Wobbegong

Wobbegong sharks are found predominantly in Australia and their name means “shaggy beard” in one of the many indigenous languages. Wobbegongs use their frilly appendage to break up their outline to better camouflage them selves but it serves another purpose. Their “shaggy beard” also lures in small fish for them to feast on (Motta & Wilga, 2001).

While there are 12 species of shark which are commonly referred to as wobbegongs, one stands out above the rest for its deceptive abilities. The tasselled wobbegong shark (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon) employs another, more effective, technique to obtain a hearty meal. It also moves its tail about like a small fish. The tasselled wobbegong shark tail is even somewhat forked tipped and in some cases they even have a fake eye making their deception even more convincing.

A female Photuris versicolour eats a male Photinus ignightus

(Source: Cornell Chronicle. Image by Eisner)

Photuris firefly

The Photuris firefly is especially skilled at gaining from their use of deceitful actions. A Photuris firefly preys upon male Photinus fireflies. The poor Photinus fireflies go about regular firefly courtship routine and emit flashes of light at a frequency unique to their species. Males fly above the ground while the females, who’s wings are too small to fly, rest on the ground watching their potential suitors fly overhead (Eisner, et al., 1997). Meanwhile, the conniving Photuris firefly sits and studies other female fireflies in order to mimic their flashing patterns. When a male sees this copied pattern he thinks it is a female of his own species and descends prepared to mate with the lovely maiden below. The result of this encounter is not procreation but ingestion of the male Photinus firefly by the Photuris firefly (Eisner, et al., 1997).

The Photuris firefly gets a many benefits out of this tactic. Obviously, he gains a meal helping him to increase fitness and ability to produce offspring. Furthermore, by eliminating his rivals he lessens the competition he has to face with other fireflies for resources. These things considered, perhaps the most devious outcome is one of toxicity. While Photuris fireflies are not toxic when they are born, by consuming naturally toxic Photinus fireflies they assume their chemical defence (chemical compounds called lucibufagins) (Eisner, et al., 1997).

References

Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) displaying its tongue, n.d., photograph, viewed 13 may 2014
<http://i.imgur.com/9koX3GL.jpg>

East, M. B., Fillmore, B. M. & Ligon, D. B., 2013. Feeding Behavior of Captive-Reared Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii). Southeastern Naturalist, 12(4), pp. 692 - 702.

Eisner, T., 1997, A female Photuris versicolour eats a male Photinus ignightus, photograph, viewed 13 May 2014
<http://www.news.cornell.edu/sites/chronicle.cornell/files/fireflyeatingmale.72.JPEG>

Eisner, T. et al., 1997. Firefly "femmes fatales" acquire defensive steroids (lucibufagins) from their firefly prey. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 94(18), pp. 9723 - 9728.

Kerr, M. D., 2011, Cantil snake (Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori) displaying its tail, photograph, viewed 13 May 2014
<http://www.thegardensofeden.org/p169755082/h3B5F7EE#h3b5f7ee>

Motta, P. J. & Wilga, C. D., 2001. Advances in the Study of Feeding Behaviors, Mechanisms, and Mechanics of Sharks. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 60(1), pp. 131 - 156.

Parkinson, C. L., Zamudio, K. R. & Greene, H. W., 2000. Phylogeography of the pitviper clade Agkistrodon: historical ecology, species status, and conservation of cantils. Molecular ecology, 9(4), pp. 411-420.

Tasselled Wobbegong Shark (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon), 2013, photograph, viewed 13 May 2014

<http://lh4.ggpht.com/-f4N-NS_73Mc/UnMxLxD5kLI/AAAAAAAAKT4/He3EFu7_bjA/%2525281%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800>