Scientists discover 4 species of tarantulas in Colombia – 07/08/2023 – Science

An expedition to one of the most diverse regions on the planet —Chocó, on the Pacific coast of Colombia— has revealed four new species of spiders from the tarantula group, including a trapdoor hunter.

The species discovered are Ummidia solana (trapdoor spider, or trapdoor spider), whose name comes from the region (Solano Bay), and the tarantulas Euthycaelus cunampia, Neischnocolus mechana It is melloina pacifica.

Trapdoor spiders are so named for the way they catch their prey, lying in wait in a burrow in the ground and catching any animal that passes by. Tarantulas (here known as crabs) have a body covered with hair and, despite being venomous, cannot bite humans.

The finding was published in early July in the specialized journal ZooKeys. The scientific expedition had financial support from the EAFIT University (School of Administration, Finance and Technological Institute) of Medellín (Colombia).

Spiders have some unique characteristics that differentiate them from other species, such as a body that is longer than it is wide, a reddish-brown color (Melloina and Ummidia) or grayish-brown color (Euthycaelus cunampia), a black base of the legs (male) or a black body. and black legs covered with yellow stripes (female of Neischnocolus mecana).

The tarantula Melloina pacifica represents the first record of the genus in Colombia — it has already been described for Venezuela and Panama. Species of the genus Melloina live in different habitats, including caves, but this is the first time that a species that lives in forests has been recorded.

The trapdoor huntress (Ummidia solana) has a bristleless body, with a rigid carapace covering the thorax and long legs. The male was found walking through the leaf litter that covers the forest floor (litter); the female, on the other hand, was holed up in the ground, lying in wait.

The species Euthycaelus cunampia was named after two members of the Emberá indigenous community: Don José and Don Antonio. Former hunters who lived in the reserve, they now act as tour guides in the botanical garden, with an important role in environmental education and conservation of the place.

Neischnocolus mecana also represents the first record of the genus in the Chocó region and on the Colombian Pacific coast, and was named in honor of the municipality of Mecaná, where the botanical garden in which the discovery was made is located.

“These taxonomic novelties represent the first recorded occurrences of their respective genera in the region, expanding their geographic distribution. This innovative study serves as proof of the potential of new species not yet discovered by science and the need for comprehensive taxonomic studies”, say the researchers.

The study was carried out in Jardín Botánico del Pacífico, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, part of the biogeographical region known as Chocó, a natural hotspot (a region with a high concentration of endemic species). This area extends to the border with Panama.

Popular as a tourist destination, Solano Bay, where the park is located, has several luxury resorts and is one of the main beaches for spotting humpback whales and sea turtles.

Despite being an area rich in biodiversity, the spiders were found in a place little explored scientifically, thus revealing an unprecedented diversity of the group.

Human activity, however, could endanger the site’s rich diversity of species, including vertebrate and invertebrate animals such as the newly discovered spiders.

Despite all efforts in the past to map the species that live there, there has been almost no research focused on spider diversity in the region. The expedition thus comes as an attempt to fill this gap.

The spiders popularly known as tarantulas are part of the order Mygalomorphae, which represents only 6% of the diversity of known spiders. In general, mygalomorphs are terrestrial, do not weave complex webs (some use silk only to make their trapdoor traps) and have hairs (bristles) covering the entire body.

Like the vast majority of spiders, they are predators and feed on different types of arthropods and even small vertebrates.

The expedition took place between February 10 and 25, 2022. The specimens were collected and deposited in the Arachnology collection of the ICN (Instituto de Ciencias Naturales) of the National University of Colombia, in Bogotá.