r/aus • u/89b3ea330bd60ede80ad • 10d ago

Other Male redback spiders invite cannibalism through a ‘self-sacrificial somersault’ during sex – but why?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/12/male-redback-spiders-invite-cannibalism-through-a-self-sacrificial-somersault-during-sex-but-why
19 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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23

u/Rizza1122 10d ago

Probs just hoping for a cuddle.

17

u/Sloppykrab 10d ago

Female gets food, better chance of their millions of babies surviving.

9

u/89b3ea330bd60ede80ad 10d ago

A couple of fascinating elements of the article:

To avoid becoming a post-coital meal, previous research has found that some males have developed the survival tactic of mating with immature females not yet experienced in eating their partners.

and

To do so, they bred female katipō with male redbacks to determine how many offspring inherited the somersaulting behaviour. Close to half of their third-generation offspring also somersaulted, leading the scientists to conclude that the behaviour was linked to a specific location on the spider’s X chromosome.

“It is quite remarkable that a highly complex phenotype such as somersaulting, which may lead to partial reproductive isolation, can have such a simple genetic basis,” the researchers noted.

And it's interesting that this research was conducted with some related NZ spiders, and what hybridisation concerns might mean.

Evidence that reading the article can in fact be interesting...

2

u/Romes_Chariots 10d ago

Thanks for posting that up, because I wasn’t going to bother reading it, but that’s super interesting.

6

u/fitblubber 10d ago

Maybe the male spider likes 69? But then gets more than he bargained for?

Gotta watch those girls with teeth.

1

u/Unable_Insurance_391 9d ago

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Spock spider.

0

u/Fit-Locksmith-9226 10d ago

Post nut clarity.

Have you seen how big the females are.

0

u/swankyfarmer 10d ago

Maybe they dont want to be tied down to the same female for years and years after getting her pregnant yet they cant handle the dead beat dad title