Nature
New species are all around us, hiding under the waves, hidden in jungles, or maybe even lurking in a cave. In an impressive discovery, researchers have spotted a new spider species hiding in a cave in Spain – and what makes the finding even more extraordinary is that the spider measures just 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) across.
The cave in question is the Cave of Nerja in Málaga, Spain. The cave itself is pretty special as it houses an archaeological site with evidence of prehistoric activity and attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year.
The team used data from a pitfall trap project carried out in 2000-2001, as well as setting new traps in 2017-2019. These traps, known as tumulus-type traps, were filled with propylene glycol and beer in a 4:1 ratio and baited with sobrasada, a type of Spanish sausage.
Inside one of these traps, the researchers caught something that had never been seen before. The new species is named Anapistula delrosalae and represents the “first record of a spider in the family Symphytognathidae and the genus Anapistula in a continental European country,” write the authors.
The new species differs from the only other Anapistula species in Europe because the edge of its fang is serrated rather than smooth, it is slightly larger, and is a more translucent color rather than brown like the other species.
The team think the species is widespread throughout the cave and even observed egg sacs as well as additional individuals within the cave. Despite this, the description of the new species is based only on the female specimens that were seen in the traps. No adult males were seen during the study, though there is a possibility immature males were observed.
Elsewhere, in Northern Island cave spiders are being slowly turned to zombies.
The paper is published in Zootaxa.
