Eight new species of tropical Andean spiders of the genus ‘priscula’, were discovered in Ecuador by Ecuadorian and German researchers.
Frontal image of the spider Priscula pastaza, with a sac of eggs.
Ecuadorian and German scientists marvel at Ecuador’s arachnid heritage, which includes a ‘crab’ spider in the Yasuní. And they recently discovered eight new species of tropical spiders.
All the spiders belong to the genus ‘priscula’ , and were located in 17 Ecuadorian localities, at altitudes ranging from 640 to 3,160 above sea level, indicated the National Institute of Biodiversity (Inabio).
Inabio explained that the ‘priscula’ genus includes “the largest Neotropical spiders“, as some can reach a body length of approximately seven millimeters and a leg span of more than 12 centimeters.
Most were found in protected spaces, such as deep holes at ground level, tunnels under roads, deep in large clumps of grass, or in thick mosses covering tree trunks.
These are the scientific names of the new species, as the researchers named them:
- ‘Priscula azuay’
- ‘Priscula llaviucu’
- ‘Priscula mirrori’
- ‘Priscula emeralds’
- ‘Priscula chapintza’
- ‘Priscula pastaza’
- ‘Pretty Priscula’
- ‘Priscula lumbaqui’
Ecuadorian researchers from Inabio participated in the discovery of the species together with colleagues from the Hamburg Nature Museum and the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum.
Little relegated and studied
Many of these species can be nocturnal, leaving their hiding places in the dark and spending the night in exposed parts of their webs.
The ‘priscula pastaza’ has the uniqueness that it was found in the caves of the Río Anzu reserve, which differs from the species that inhabit the forests.
It hangs completely exposed in its web during the day and produces sacs with fewer (6 to 7) eggs than the others (average 42), but larger.
Their lifestyle is mostly cryptic, which is why they continue to be little relegated and studied. “Some specimens remain in undescribed collections, which is why very little is known about the phylogeny and biology of the genus,” said the Ecuadorian scientific institution.
Most known species share the dark coloration and therefore probably also the camouflaged lifestyle.
Geographically, the genus ‘priscula’ is largely restricted to the tropical Andes, from Bolivia to Venezuela, Inabio pointed out based on the study published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
