A new species of spider has been discovered in the forests of Queensland in the northeast of Australia.
The ultra-rare spiders, which were found in the forests of Queensland, have been given the scientific name Euoplos Dignitas.
The giant eight-legged creature has been identified as a type of Golden Trapdoor Spider. These rare spiders can grow up to an impressive 5 cm long.
To put that into perspective, that is approximately 1 cm bigger than a milk bottle top. This makes it considerably big as far as trapdoor spiders go.
Dr Michael Rix – led the team who discovered the Golden Trapdoor Spider
Dr Michael Rix, who led the team that discovered the new arachnid, described the new species as a “spectacular spider… and a big beautiful species”.
“It’s very big for a trapdoor spider,” said Rix, Queensland Museum’s principal scientist and curator of arachnology.
“The females of this species can get up to five centimetres in body length”. Dr Jeremy Wilson, one of the scientists, says what he loves about his work is “knowing that that species is now known to everyone and can be protected”.
The scientists in Australia who discovered the new spider species also believe that the species could already be endangered. They believe this to be the case because there has been a significant loss of woodland in the area.
The Golden Trapdoor Spider – a new giant spider species
While the newest type of Golden Trapdoor Spider is a newly discovered species, and as such, there is much still to find out about it, there are many things that we now know about it already.
Some of these things that we now know are that these giant trapdoor spiders tend to be either bright red or dark. This depends on whether they are male or female.
Also, as their name suggests, these spiders like to hide in holes covered by leaves in the daytime. Then, at night, they use this leafy trapdoor to capture and hunt their prey.
Its official scientific name is Euoplos Dignitas, meaning ‘dignity’ or ‘greatness’ if translated into English. This name was chosen to reflect and honour the size of the spider.
Project Dig – a campaign which aims to showcase interesting areas of the natural world which need to be protected
It’s believed that the adult female spiders may be able to live up to 20 years old, and while they do use their venom-filled fangs for hunting, they aren’t deadly to humans. However, that’s certainly not to say that their bite isn’t painful!
Dr Michael Rix and his team discovered the new species of spider thanks to the fact that they were part of the Project Dig campaign.
This campaign aims to showcase the most interesting areas of the natural world and highlight why they need to be protected at all costs.
