A benefit of our work is spending time in nature and the opportunity to witness interesting occurrences; and such a situation occurred in February this year for our Science & Knowledge and Reserve Management teams while they were visiting the Bullock Bridge Nature Reserve in South Australia’s southeast.
 
While the teams were inspecting the monitoring sites and remote cameras, some movement drew their attention to the ground. Upon closer inspection, they observed a Common Scaly-foot (Pygopus lepidopodus) entering a spider burrow under the leaf litter. The lizard entered the burrow to a depth of more than half of its body length and emerged around five minutes later with a large adult spider in its mouth. The lizard held the spider in its mouth for about two minutes after emerging from the burrow, likely crushing the spider in its jaws before slowly ingesting it headfirst, a process that took more than 15 minutes.
 
This observation is significant as it provides a rare glimpse into the natural behaviour of the Common Scaly-foot, contributing to our understanding of its ecology and predator-prey interactions. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of the foraging and consumption of a burrowing spider by a Common Scaly-foot.
 
Common Scaly-foot is a widespread legless lizard found in coastal forests, heaths, and dunes of southern Australia. An active forager, the lizard feeds on invertebrates, mainly nocturnal mygalomorph burrowing spiders and their egg sacs, during the day. However, most of the information on their diet and prey handling comes from stomach-contents analysis or feeding experiments, rather than direct observation, particularly in the wild.
 
The team was buzzing with excitement at this rare sighting, staying close to observe and document the process with videos and photos. After completing their observations, they conducted some initial inquiries with the South Australian Museum to validate the uniqueness of the situation. This process confirmed that it was indeed the first observation of a Common Scaly-foot preying on a burrowing spider. This significant finding was then documented as a short note and submitted to Herpetological Review, where it has been accepted for publication.
 
For those curious, the group was unable to identify the spider positively. However, they suspected it was a female Trapdoor spider (Idiosoma). These spiders are known for their aggressive defence of their burrows, often retreating to the bottom and rearing at predators. This defensive behaviour explains the depth the lizard needed to reach to grasp the spider, and the fact that it grasped the spider by the head. The extended time taken to ingest the prey suggests that the lizard itself is vulnerable to predation. It was also surprising to see the lizard ingesting the spider at the entrance to the burrow rather than hiding under the leaf litter.
 
Certainly not something you see every day!