Cave+Spiders-Saul+Funes

= =The Tooth Cave Spider=

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Natural Habitat
The natural habit and location of this spider is in Travis County in Texas. They live on the walls and ceilings of the caves and that is how they catch their food.

Niche
-Size: The size of this spider is very small. It is 1/16 inch in length but it has very long legs that it uses to hang on to the wall and it uses to capture food. -Diet: This spider eats tiny invertebrates. It captures it with its long legs or with its webs. -Reproduction: The reproductive patterns and populations are unknown but it is estimated at less then 250 spiders. -Active: This spider is only active in the caves in Travis county because this is the only place that it can be in and it is active in the darkness. -Look: This spider is a pale cream colored with very long legs that it uses for everything and it also has six eyes that are barely visible to our eyes.



Why could this species fill the niche left by the endangered species? The Tooth cave spider could fill the niche of the grey bat because they both live in caves and they both live in the south. However the Tooth Cave spider would only be able to fill the niche for a little bit because the spider is also endangered. Though they are both endangered they are not endangered for the same reasons. The spider is endangered because its caves are being blocked and destroyed which destroys them in the process. The Tooth cave spider would also be able to fill the niche because they both eat insects and they have the same habitat. The Spider also eats invertebrates in the cave. The grey bat is able to get its food in the air or on the ground and the spider is able to get the food with its long legs and with its webs. The spideer has very long legs that it uses to catch its prey while the Grey bat uses its mouth and teeth.

How long would it take for the cave spider to fill the Grey Bats Niche? I think that the spider would be able to take over quickly if it could survive long enough. I think this because the spider would have more food left if the grey bat was gone. This means that the spider might be able to reproduce faster even thought its reproductive patterns are unknown. Hopefully if the spiders have more food then there population number would get higher and they would not be an endangered species.

Work Cited
//Glenn, C. R. 2006. "Earth's Endangered Creatures" (Online). Accessed 10/13/2009 at http://earthsendangered.com.

Tooth Cave Spider (Neoleptoneta myopica)." Texas Parks & Wildlife Department | Welcome. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .//