Australia is well-known for its diverse and often intimidating wildlife, with its spiders being a prime example.
Fear of spiders is a common phobia, with a study by City University London revealing that 75% of 118 participants surveyed were afraid of these eight-legged creatures.
The latest news from Down Under is likely to send shivers down the spines of arachnophobes worldwide.
Scientists have discovered a new “giant” spider in Australia, which has been added to the country’s already long list of wildlife.
The creature, named Euoplos dignitas, has been cataloged in Queensland, where it can be found only in the Brigalow Belt in Central Queensland.
The Queensland Museum was behind the spider’s investigation, and Dr. Jeremy Wilson, a research assistant of arachnology at the museum, expressed his excitement about this type of work, saying, “You get to come into the collection and look through specimens from across Australia, and you just never know what you’re going to find. When you then get to see that through to the end, which is giving a name to that species and knowing that that species is now known to everyone and can be protected.”
Euoplos dignitas is a large trapdoor spider that builds its burrows in open woodland habitats, specifically in the black soils of the Central Queensland area.
However, it is now an endangered species, with most of its natural habitat lost to land clearing. Dr. Michael Rix, the museum’s primary arachnologist, explained that the females, which are larger trapdoor spiders than their male counterparts, can grow up to almost five centimeters in body length. “They’ve got these really cryptic trapdoors in these woodland habitats on the ground, and most people wouldn’t even realize that they’re there,” he said.
The discovery of Euoplos dignitas is a reminder of the vast and unique array of wildlife found in Australia.
Despite its size and reputation as a harsh and dangerous continent, it is home to many species that are yet to be discovered or cataloged.
