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Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that predation their prey via crypsis, luring or by (typically instinctive) hunting strategy utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike , who chase to capture prey using sheer speed or endurance, ambush predators avoid fatigue by staying in concealment, waiting patiently for the prey to get near, before launching a sudden overwhelming attack that quickly incapacitates and captures the prey.
The ambush is often opportunistic, and may be set by hiding in a burrow, by camouflage, by aggressive mimicry, or by the use of a trap (e.g. a spider web). The predator then uses a combination of to Prey detection and assess the prey, and to time the strike. Nocturnal ambush predators such as and have vertical slit 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 to the expanding mouths of .
Ambush predation is widely distributed in the animal kingdom, spanning some members of numerous groups such as the starfish, , , , such as , and such as many types of snake, fish, and Felidae.
Trapdoor spiders excavate a burrow and seal the entrance with a web trapdoor hinged on one side with silk. The best-known is the thick, bevelled "cork" type, which neatly fits the burrow's opening. The other is the "wafer" type; it is a basic sheet of silk and earth. The door's upper side is often effectively camouflaged with local materials such as pebbles and sticks. The spider spins silk fishing lines, or trip wires, that radiate out of the burrow entrance. 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. Prey make the silk vibrate, and alert the spider to open the door and ambush the prey.
The zone-tailed hawk, which resembles the turkey vulture, flies among flocks of turkey vultures, then suddenly breaks from the formation and ambushes one of them as its prey. There is however some controversy about whether this is a true case of wolf in sheep's clothing mimicry.
are aggressive mimics, resembling convincingly enough to attract prey that come to collect pollen and nectar. The orchid mantis actually attracts its prey, pollinator insects, more effectively than flowers do. , similarly, are coloured like the flowers they habitually rest on, but again, they can lure their prey even away from flowers.
Some but not all spider web are sit-and-wait ambush predators. The sheetweb spiders (Linyphiidae) tend to stay with their webs for long periods and so resemble sit-and-wait predators, whereas the orb-weaving spiders (such as the Araneidae) tend to move frequently from one patch to another (and thus resemble active foragers).
The deep-sea tripodfish Bathypterois grallator uses tactile and mechanosensory cues to identify food in its low-light environment. The fish faces into the current, waiting for prey to drift by. (1992). 9780521336659, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521336659
Several species of Felidae and snakes have vertically elongated (slit) pupils, advantageous for nocturnal ambush predators as it helps them to estimate the distance to prey in dim light; diurnal and pursuit predators in contrast have round pupils. Supplement: List of species by pupil shape.
Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are highly adapted as ambush predators. They can change colour to match their surroundings and often climb through trees with a swaying motion, probably to mimic the movement of the leaves and branches they are surrounded by. All chameleons are primarily and feed by ballistically projecting their , often twice the length of their bodies, to capture prey.Anderson, Christopher V. (2009) Rhampholeon spinosus feeding video. chamaeleonidae.com The tongue is projected in as little as 0.07 seconds, and is launched at an acceleration of over 41 G force. The power with which the tongue is launched, over 3000 W·kg−1, is more than muscle can produce, indicating that energy is stored in an elastic tissue for sudden release.
All fishes face a basic problem when trying to swallow prey: opening their mouth may pull food in, but closing it will push the food out again. capture their prey by suddenly opening their jaws, with a mechanism which enlarges the volume of the mouth cavity up to 12-fold and pulls the prey (crustaceans, molluscs and other whole fishes) into the mouth along with water; the jaws close without reducing the volume of the mouth cavity. The attack can be as fast as 6 milliseconds.
Taxonomic range
Ambush predation is widely distributed across the animal. It is found in many vertebrates including fishes such as the frogfishes (anglerfishes) of the sea bottom, and the Esocidae of freshwater; reptiles including crocodiles, snapping turtles, the mulga dragon,Robert Browne-Cooper (2025). 9781920694746, University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 9781920694746 and many snakes such as the black mamba; mammals such as the cats; and birds such as the anhinga (darter). The strategy is found in several invertebrate phyla including arthropods such as , purseweb spiders, and some ; cephalopod molluscs such as the colossal squid; and starfish such as Leptasterias tenera.
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