Ambush predator
Nocturnal ambush predators such as cats and snakes have vertical slit pupils helping them to judge the distance to prey in dim light.
Different ambush predators use a variety of means to capture their prey, from the long sticky tongues of chameleons to the expanding mouths of frogfishes.
Ambush predation is widely distributed in the animal kingdom, spanning some members of numerous groups such as the starfish, cephalopods, crustaceans, spiders, insects such as mantises, and vertebrates such as many snakes and fishes.
For example, when a pursuit predator is faster than its prey over a short distance, but not in a long chase, then either stalking or ambush becomes necessary as part of the strategy.
When the spider is using the trap to capture prey, its chelicerae (protruding mouthparts) hold the door shut on the end furthest from the hinge.
Among insects, coloration in ambush bugs closely matches the flower heads where they wait for prey.
[10] The devil scorpionfish typically lies partially buried on the sea floor or on a coral head during the day, covering itself with sand and other debris to further camouflage itself.
[11][12][13][14] The tasselled wobbegong is a shark whose adaptations as an ambush predator include a strongly flattened and camouflaged body with a fringe that breaks up its outline.
[32] The deep-sea tripodfish Bathypterois grallator uses tactile and mechanosensory cues to identify food in its low-light environment.
[6][37] Zebra mantis shrimp capture agile prey such as fish primarily at night while hidden in burrows, striking very hard and fast, with a mean peak speed 2.30 m/s (5.1 mph) and mean duration of 24.98 ms.[37] Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are highly adapted as ambush predators.
[38] All chameleons are primarily insectivores and feed by ballistically projecting their tongues, often twice the length of their bodies, to capture prey.
It is found in many vertebrates including fishes such as the frogfishes (anglerfishes) of the sea bottom, and the pikes of freshwater; reptiles including crocodiles,[44] snapping turtles,[45] the mulga dragon,[46] and many snakes such as the black mamba;[47] mammals such as the cats;[48] and birds such as the anhinga (darter).
[49] The strategy is found in several invertebrate phyla including arthropods such as mantises,[50][51][52] purseweb spiders,[53] and some crustaceans;[3] cephalopod molluscs such as the colossal squid;[54] and starfish such as Leptasterias tenera.
