From mongabay.com:
Velociraptor spider discovered in Oregon cave (pictures)
Jeremy Hance
August 17, 2012
Scouring the caves of Southwest Oregon, scientists have made the incredible discovery of a fearsome apex predator with massive, sickle claws. No, it’s not the Velociraptor from Jurassic Park: it’s a large spider that is so unique scientists were forced to create a new taxonomic family for it.
“This is something completely new,” lead author of a paper on the species, Charles Griswold with the California Academy of Sciences, told SFGate. “It’s a historic event.”
The discoverers, who published their description paper in the open-access journal Zoo Keys have named the new species Trogloraptor, which translates loosely to “cave robber,” and they have dubbed a new spider family—Trogloraptoridae—to accommodate what they believe is a primitive spider. The full species name is Trogloraptor marchingtoni after one of its discoverers.
Elusive cave spider found at one of the UK’s most popular nature reserves: here.
Related articles
- Velociraptor: Facts about the ‘Speedy Thief’ (livescience.com)
- The Velociraptor Was Actually Nothing Like Its Hollywood Depiction (businessinsider.com)
- Shadows and Spiders: A Secret Cave in California (science.kqed.org)
- Pro-tip: Don’t use brass knuckles to kill a spider. (w/ video clip) [Dumbass] (fark.com)
- Three New Species of Springtails Discovered in Spanish Cave (natureworldnews.com)
- Three new arthropod species have been found in the Maestrazgo Caves in Teruel (esciencenews.com)
How big was the Trogloraptor?
LikeLike
“Trogloraptor, which is roughly the size of a half-dollar coin when its legs are extended” according to
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-secret-spider-20120817,0,2627302.story
In many spiders, females are bigger than males.
LikeLike
…and more aggressive…
LikeLike
Pingback: Trogloraptor spider, new species, video | Dear Kitty. Some blog