Giant trapdoor spider discovered in Australia: NPR

a Euoplos VIP Spider image in 2021.

Queensland Museum

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Queensland Museum

a Euoplos VIP Spider image in 2021.

Queensland Museum

A silk-hinged trap door might look like something out of a fairy tale, but it’s actually something that comes out of some spiders — and there’s a new species to add to the list. Researchers in Australia have discovered a rare and giant species of trapdoor spider found only in central Queensland.

its name, Euoplos VIP, Coming from the Latin word meaning dignity or greatness, it “reflects the spider’s impressive size and nature,” said Museum Queensland. in the current situation.

“It’s such a big, beautiful species,” said Michael Ricks, lead coordinator of arachnology at Museums Network Queensland, in a video announcing the discovery. The researchers’ goal was to “formally and scientifically document these new species.”

A spokesperson for the Queensland Museum said the spider was more than an inch long, or about the size of an Australian 50-cent coin, which is slightly larger than a US half dollar.

Euoplos VIP It lives in open woodland habitats, building burrows in the black soil of central Queensland. Like many species of trapdoor spiders, it builds its burrows with silken-hinged doors, and feeds by opening the trap door and grabbing passing insects.

These spiders are shy and subtropical tropical It is not dangerous to humans, although spider bites may cause pain and swelling.

Much of the newly discovered spider’s habitat has been lost in the ground, which means it is likely an endangered species. The species is “now publicly known and can be protected,” said Jeremy Wilson, Research Assistant in Arachnology at the Queensland Museum Network, in the video announcement.