Leg span of more than 33 cms
October 2012. A scientist has discovered a harvestman (spider) with a leg span
of more than 33 centimetres during a research trip to Laos; this is one of the
largest representatives of the entire order of spiders anywhere in the world.
The scientist, from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, has so far
failed to identify it to species level.
The reason Dr. Peter Jäger from the Senckenberg Research Institute went to Laos was to film a major TV production. "In between takes I collected spiders from the caves in the southern province of Khammouan", the Frankfurt arachnologist explains. In doing so, he made a sensational discovery. "In one of the caves I discovered a harvestman that was absolutely huge." The leg span of the gigantic male harvestman was more than 33 centimetres and therefore one of the world's largest. The current record is just over 34 centimetres leg span for a species from South America.
Unidentified
Initially the discovery lay hidden among other organisms and was only recognised as unique when sorted and labelled. "In attempting to categorise the creature properly, however, and give it a scientific name, I soon reached my limits", says Jäger. The Frankfurt scientist deals mainly with huntsman spiders - harvestmen are not his particular field. Even the specialist he consulted, Ana Lucia Tourinho from the National Institute for Research of the Amazon (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil, who is currently a visiting academic at the Senckenberg Arachnology lab, could only conclude that it is probably the genus Gagrella in the Sclerosomatidae family.
The reason Dr. Peter Jäger from the Senckenberg Research Institute went to Laos was to film a major TV production. "In between takes I collected spiders from the caves in the southern province of Khammouan", the Frankfurt arachnologist explains. In doing so, he made a sensational discovery. "In one of the caves I discovered a harvestman that was absolutely huge." The leg span of the gigantic male harvestman was more than 33 centimetres and therefore one of the world's largest. The current record is just over 34 centimetres leg span for a species from South America.
Unidentified
Initially the discovery lay hidden among other organisms and was only recognised as unique when sorted and labelled. "In attempting to categorise the creature properly, however, and give it a scientific name, I soon reached my limits", says Jäger. The Frankfurt scientist deals mainly with huntsman spiders - harvestmen are not his particular field. Even the specialist he consulted, Ana Lucia Tourinho from the National Institute for Research of the Amazon (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil, who is currently a visiting academic at the Senckenberg Arachnology lab, could only conclude that it is probably the genus Gagrella in the Sclerosomatidae family.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!