A new and rare giant spider has been found hiding beneath a trapdoor made of silk and soil west of Brisbane, Australia.
The giant trapdoor spider, Euoplos dignitas, was discovered by researchers involved in Queensland Museum’s Project DIG, which has been running for the past four years to understand more about the state’s biodiversity.
LARGE FOR ITS KIND
What excites lead researcher Michael Rix most about the discovery of the new creepy crawly, found in the black soil around Queensland’s Eidsvold and Monto, is its size.
The females, which can live for more than 20 years in the wild, are larger than the males.
“It’s very big for a trapdoor spider,” said Rix, who is also Queensland Museum’s principal scientist and curator of arachnology.
“The females of this species can get up to five centimeters in body length,” he said.
The new species, the discovery of which was published in the Journal of Arachnology, plays an important role in the leaf litter ecosystem, helping to control insect populations.
AT RISK
However, the researchers found the species is likely threatened due to its small natural range and the amount of woodland that has been cleared in the region, Rix said.
“We think they’re probably in a bit of trouble ... but more work needs to be done to get a better handle of how much,” he said.
The female spiders spend their lives underground, while the males — which are honey red in color — leave the burrow after five to seven years to find a mate in another burrow, Rix said.
During the day, the trapdoor the spiders live beneath is closed, but at night, the spider sits just under the ajar door, waiting to grab insects as they scurry by.
‘NOT DANGEROUS’
The spiders use venom to subdue their prey, but they are not dangerous to humans, Rix said.
“The bite might be physically painful because of their size, but they’re not dangerous,” he said.
Rix said the next steps for the researchers will be determining where other populations of the spider exist in central Queensland.
“It is a really important process in both understanding what’s out there, but also as a step towards conservation,” he said.
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