8-eyed creature with ‘long,’ ‘golden’ hair found perched on tree. It’s a new species
In a mountain forest in Ecuador, an eight-eyed creature covered in “long,” “golden” hair sat perched on a tree. As the shaggy animal looked at its surroundings, something else — or someone else — was looking at it.
Scientists ventured into the wooded foothills of the Andes mountains in Cotopaxi province in February, according to a study published Dec. 13 in the journal ZooKeys.
While surveying local wildlife, researchers found a tree-dwelling spider, the study said. They took a closer look at the animal and realized they’d discovered a new species: Psalmopoeus chronoarachne, or the time-counted tarantula.
The time-counted tarantula can reach about 1.2 inches in length, researchers said. It has eight eyes, eight legs and is covered with “bright golden,” “long” hairs. Photos show the new species.
Female time-counted tarantulas have spermathecae, an internal reproductive organ used to store sperm, with two “asymmetrical” parts, the study said.
Researchers identified the new species based on the sex organs and habitat of a single female spider. The study did not provide a DNA analysis of the new species.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Greek words for time, “chrono,” and spider, “arachne,” because “these spiders could ‘have their time counted’ or reduced by impactful anthropogenic activities.” In other words, human behaviors are putting the new species’ survival at risk, according to the study.
So far, time-counted tarantulas have only been found in a forest of Pangua in Cotopaxi province, the study said. This area is about 80 miles southwest of Quito, the country’s capital.
Pangua is an area known for wildlife biodiversity, but “is highly threatened by both legal and illegal mining operations,” habitat loss and the potential introduction of invasive species, the study said. Due to these “escalating threats,” researchers believe time-counted tarantulas may be critically endangered.
The research team included Peñaherrera-R. and Roberto León-E. Researchers also discovered a second new species of tarantula.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 12:29 PM with the headline "8-eyed creature with ‘long,’ ‘golden’ hair found perched on tree. It’s a new species."
