Black Widow vs. Alligator Lizard: Who Will Win?

What does not kill you makes you stronger, they say. But, does that saying apply to venom? For some lizards, particularly the southern alligator lizard, the venom of black widow spiders, deadly for many other small animals, certainly does not kill it. In fact, the venom doesn’t appear to impact these lizards at all, allowing lizards to make a nourishing meal of dangerous spider prey.
The alligator lizard is not hesitant when facing the spider. It quickly approaches the spider, moves into the perfect position for an attack, and then pounces. The spider is quickly devoured, her venom useless against the resistant lizard. Even more surprising: a single lizard will not only eat one or two, but five spiders without any affectation.
This is what a team of researchers from the Department of Biology and the Department of Agriculture, Veterinary and Rangeland Sciences from the University of Nevada, Reno found and reported in a study called Preying dangerously: black widow spider venom resistance in sympatric lizards, published in the Royal Society Open Science and featured in articles from the New York Times and Newseek.
Learn more at www.unr.edu/ne...

[@debrawehrly6900]

How Dan I naturally attract more lizards into my yard?

[@briantravelman]

Did the lizard survive?

[@Pwnagotchi-0]

I hope the lizard bc that’d be a waste of a lizard if otherwise

[@Nagoya_Chicken]

Don't worry alligator lizard is immune to spider's poison

[@briantravelman]

@@Nagoya_Chicken Not the babies, because I just watched a black widow completely annihilate a baby

[@Nagoya_Chicken]

@@briantravelman you are right

[@PsychoticSympathy]

This is not a fair match up. Black widow spiders are web dwellers and are not effective on ground. You put a black widow in environment where the lizard thrives. Put a lizard in a black widows environment, and you may have a different outcome.

[@NithinJune]

wtym “who will win” 😭😭 bro took one bite and it was over

[@META19991]

Awesome