Araneophagic jumping spiders discriminate between detour routes that do and do not lead to prey

Visual Discrimination Learning in the Jumping Spider Phidippus regius

“…They inspected the images from different distances and even touched the screens. This observation is coherent with the idea of a 'visual inspection' as Cross and Jackson (2016) proposed and as described in some Spartanae species prior to engaging in detour behaviors (Tarsitano, 2006;Tarsitano & Andrew, 1999;Tarsitano & Jackson, 1997). We think that this active and prolonged scanning behavior is fundamental for the process of learning novel visual stimuli, as well as in novel detours.…”

“…They display interesting behaviors that likely depend on highly flexible and complex cognitive abilities (Herberstein, 2011). For example, spiders of the genus Portia seem able to retain in their memory the position of prey in the environment (Tarsitano, 2006;Tarsitano & Andrew, 1999;Tarsitano & Jackson, 1997) and even modify their behavior when facing unexpected scenarios, as if they held expectations about certain events (Cross & Jackson, 2014).…”

Cognition in Invertebrates

“…The salticid jumping spider of the genus Portia was exposed to a three-dimensional maze which the animal could oversee in its entirety (Tarsitano and Jackson, 1997). One of the two wire paths led to a food lure, the other did not.…”

Representation of different exact numbers of prey by a spider-eating predator

“…However, our methods here differ from the methods used in the earlier study [29] because, instead of changing the type of prey, we change the number of prey while keeping the type of prey constant. Our methods also differ by being based on Portia's known capacity to undertake detours even when these detours result in losing sight of the prey it is pursing [33][34][35].…”