Despite their name, pelican spiders aren’t massive, fish-eating monstrosities. In fact, the shy spiders in the family Archaeidae are as long as a grain of rice and are a threat only to other spiders.
Discovering a new species of these tiny Madagascar spiders is tough, but Hannah Wood has done just that — 18 times over.
Wood, an arachnologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., analyzed the genes and anatomy of live and museum pelican spider specimens to find these new species. She describes them in a paper published online January 11 in ZooKeys.
Like other pelican spiders, the new species have an elongated “neck” and beaklike pincers, or chelicerae. The way they use those long chelicerae to strike from a distance, earned them another name: assassin spiders. Once impaled, the helpless prey dangles from these meat hooks until the venom does its work (SN: 3/22/14, p. 4).
上海喝茶群vx
Probing the spiders’ tiny anatomy under a microscope, Wood looked for hints to distinguish one species from another. Arachnologists often look to spiders’ genitals: Males and females from the same species typically evolved specially shaped organs to mate. If the “lock” doesn’t fit the “key,” the spiders are likely of a different species.
Thanks to Wood, 18 more species of pelican spiders — some of which were previously misclassified — now have names. Eriauchenius rafohy honors an ancient Madagascar queen, and E. wunderlichi, an eminent arachanologist. Wood, one of the foremost experts on pelican spiders, says she expects there are still more species to find. Perhaps an E. woodi?
相关文章Hungary’s Confucius Institute in Miskolc marks 10th anniversaryThe Confucius Institute in Miskolc, northeastern Hungary, marked its 10th anniversary on Monday with a celebration featuring Chinese and Western music. The event was attended by Hungarian officials, university professors and students, as well as representatives from Chinese enterprises. They enjoyed a display of Chinese and Western musical compositions, including Hungarian melodies. In his speech, […]
Exclusive: Hong Kong mutual benefit policy serves to complement rather than compete with potential partners: HKSAR Chief Executive
Editors Note: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu (Lee), led a high-level delegation of 70 people to participate in the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing from October 18 to 19. At the forum, he invited entrepreneurs to Hong Kong to set up belt and […]
Growing fondness: why are Arab youth increasingly drawn to China?A recent public opinion survey conducted in Dubai targeting Arab youth revealed that eight out of 10 respondents consider China an ally, marking the highest number of respondents to hold this view in four years. According to data from the United Nations Population Fund, the Arab region is characterized by a substantial youth population, with […]
China’s medical assistance boosts healthcare development in South Pacific region"For this surgery, we have prepared for more than half a year," Xiao Yuehai told the Global Times when talking about the first laparoscopic surgery carried out in Solomon Islands. Xiao is an urologist from the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University (AHGMU) and a member of the second group of Chinese medical workers dispatched […]
还没有评论,来说两句吧...