[News] Yeah, this doesn't surprise me.

[moonvoice]

Entirely new species of trapdoor spider found in Western Australia. Currently being called the 'albino trapdoor spider' until it is formally described. Though it's not technically albino.

Comments

[spider_fox]

:DDD

Awesome!

[spider_fox]

Though given the great range of color one can find within a species, I'm doubtful if that's a new species simply because of the white carapace, IF that's the only specimen found.

[moonvoice]

I don't know; they reckon that there's more undiscovered species of spider in Western Australia than discovered species. It's pretty much one of the last (awesome) stands for arachnids / insects and plants, in that sense. A way of getting a biodiverse hotspot without the year-round humidity of the amazon.

[spider_fox]

Looks like I have a place to go exploring in the future :P

[moonvoice]

I was surprised you hadn't considered it already, because in Australia it's considered - like the interior of Australia - kind of a mecca for those who still want to discover new species. It happens so often they hardly write articles about it anymore. This week, I think about two new species of frog has been discovered, a new butterfly, some more insects, and a spider. It's kind of 'par for the course.'

[spider_fox]

I hadn't considered it because I didn't know about that :) Now I do, and who knows where my studies may take me in the future.

[white_rabbit]

D:

Pretty cool, actually.

[herlander_refugee]

Gee, they shoulda named it "Snow White" Spider!!

We have a variety of trapdoor spiders here in Western Washington. They are called "wolf spiders" altho' they are not the super venomous same sort as one of that name in Australia. They actually make a funnel web more than an actual trap door, but they do really like to make those webs in places like log hollows and such, sometimes kind of blending 'geography' with webbery.

[citrakayah]

Not surprising, really; we know only what, half, the species on the planet. Most of those that we don't are small ones like spiders. Or are in the deep.