Breastfeeding is exclusive in mammals, but scientists have discovered over time other animals that also produce this nutrient-rich eucalyptus to feed their young, including flamingos, cockroaches and males by the emperor. But the newest and unexpected addition to this collection is a kind of spiders.
Researchers in China have discovered that the females of the Toxeus magnus spider produce a milk-like liquid to feed their young.
The study, published in the journal Science, also found that the mother spiders continue to provide the liquid, which contains about four times the amount of protein found in cow's milk, for a long time after its children become young adults.
Although spiders do not use mammary glands to produce liquid and therefore "nurse" by name only, the results should prompt scientists to reconsider what they know about breastfeeding and how they evolved, according to researchers.
The author of the study, Richard Curtis, a biologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said finding such a mammal-like behavior in the spider or any infertility was a surprise.
Spiders are the largest spiders in the world, with more than 5,000 species on almost every continent.
And the smaller one, the "Toxius Magnus" also known as the "simulator of the black ants," resembles an ant, and walks like it also moves his front legs in the air like the pair of antennas in the ant, but jump when threatened or caught. These species are found mostly in Southeast Asia.