If you love spiders, you are in luck! If you don’t — look away!
A new species of spider, which can swim and even catch fish, has been discovered in Australia. It was unveiled at the ninth annual World Science Festival in Brisbane, Australia, which runs this year between March 9 and 13.
The spider has been named Dolomedes braingreenei in honor of Brian Greene, string theorist and Columbia University professor who co-founded the festival in 2008.
Dolomedes briangreenei is a new species of the Dolomedes genus (water spiders) that are only found in Queensland, Australia — phew! The spiders use vibrations on the surface of the water to navigate and find prey.
“It’s wonderful that this beautiful native spider, which relies on waves for its very survival, has found a namesake in a man who is one of the world’s leading experts in exploring and explaining the effects of waves in our universe,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said, as she unveiled the spider to Brian at the festival opening.
Professor Greene responded by saying: “With the announcement last month of humankind’s first detection of gravitational waves — ripples on the surface of space and time — I am particularly honored to be so closely associated with a spider that has its own deep affinity for waves.”
Dolomedes briangreenei, roughly the size of the palm of your hand, is a dark spider with long legs. Males have bold white stripes along the sides of their head, whereas the female’s stripe is narrower and tan colored.
Surprisingly, given the spiders size, Dolomedes briangreenei eat fish, frogs and tadpoles, including those of the invasive Cane Toad. The spiders are also excellent swimmers and are often found on the sides of pools and rocks waiting for prey. They can even move across the surface of the water using their two middle pairs of legs.
“When disturbed or hauling in captured fish, they will plunge through the surface of the water and swim quickly to hide on the bottom,” said Dr Raven, Principal Scientist of Arachnology at the Queensland Museum.
So, there are spiders that crawl on land, spiders that can fly in the air, and now spiders that can swim under the water. What’s next?
You might also like: Ocean Explorers May Have Accidentally Discovered a Ghostly New Species of Octopus
Facebook comments