Eighteen new species of Madagascan spiders have been discovered, a report published on January 11 in the science journal Zookeys reveals.
Dr. Hannah Wood from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Nikolaj Scharff from the University of Copenhagen are the researchers behind this discovery of the new species of pelican spiders.
According to a release from Smithsonian Institution, the discovery adds to scientists’ understanding of the biodiversity that exists in Madagascar, It also highlights the need for conserving what remains of Madagascar’s forests, what with widespread deforestation posing a threat.
Living fossils
With elongated neck- and beak-like structures, giving them the look of pelicans archaeid spiders or assassin spiders are tiny creatures, merely two to six millimeters in size. Native to Madagascar, these spiders are also called as “living fossils,” as similar ones have been found in 165-million-year-old fossils.
Pelican spiders have also been reported from South Africa and Australia, suggesting that these spiders were present before the Pangaea supercontinent broke up into separate continents at least 175 million years ago.
Lateral view of male Eriauchenius goodmani
Fourteen of the new species belong to the genus Eriauchenius while the rest belong to Madagascarchaea. These spiders, found in the montane rainforests of Madagascar are active night hunters. According to the release, when a pelican spider finds a victim, it swiftly reaches out and impales it on its long, fang-tipped “jaws,”...Then it holds the victim away from its body, keeping itself safe from potential counterattacks, until the victim dies.
“Pelican spiders are well known among arachnologists not only for their unusual appearance, but also for the way they use their long “necks” and jaw-like mouthparts to prey on other spiders. These spiders attest to the unique biology that diversified in Madagascar,” says Hannah M. Wood in the release.
Named after kings, queens
The new spiders have been named after kings, queens, biologists and even politicians. Here are some of the names:
* Eriauchenius andriamanelo : named after King Andriamanelo, the founder of the Kingdom of Madagascar
* Eriauchenius rafohy : named after Queen Rafohy, ruler of the highlands of Madagascar in the 15th century
* Eriauchenius goodmani: named after Dr. Steven Goodman, conservational biologist who studied Madagascar’s biodiversity.
* Eriauchenius harveyi: named after Dr. Mark Harvey, senior curator of arachnids at the Western Australian Museum.
* Eriauchenius sama, Eriauchenius zirafy: 'Sama' means pelican and 'zirafy' means Giraffe in Malagasy
* Madagascarchaea moramora: ‘Mora mora' means easy, easy in Malagasy.
* Madagascarchaea rabesahala: named after Gisèle Rabesahala, a Malagasy activist, politician and the first woman to become a minister in Madagascar.
