Scientists have found a new species of spider in a Chinese rain forest.
The species is the first of its kind to mimic a leaf, and researchers still aren't sure why the masquerade is used.
The spider uses its silk to stick leaves to tree branches and then lurks among them, likely lying in wait for unsuspecting prey.
Dr. Matjaz Kuntner and his colleagues were on a dusk trek through southwestern China's Yunnan rainforest when his head torch caught the shimmer of a spider's silk.
Strangely, the web seemed to attach to the leaves of a nearby tree.
After closer inspection, Dr. Kuntner was shocked to find that one of the leaves was a live spider.
'If there's a web, there's a spider,' Dr Kuntner, of the Smithsonian Institution and the Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory in Slovenia, told.
The species is the first of its kind to mimic a leaf, and researchers still aren't sure why the masquerade is used.
The spider uses its silk to stick leaves to tree branches and then lurks among them, likely lying in wait for unsuspecting prey.
Dr. Matjaz Kuntner and his colleagues were on a dusk trek through southwestern China's Yunnan rainforest when his head torch caught the shimmer of a spider's silk.
Strangely, the web seemed to attach to the leaves of a nearby tree.
After closer inspection, Dr. Kuntner was shocked to find that one of the leaves was a live spider.
'If there's a web, there's a spider,' Dr Kuntner, of the Smithsonian Institution and the Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory in Slovenia, told.
“We’re trained to find strands of spider silk at night by using our headlamps and we found these strands of silk and basically followed them to the source of it,” Kuntner explained.
The first spider was found hanging among dead leaves that were lashed to the tree branches with spider silk, making the researchers suspect that the female spider went down to the forest floor, gathered up dead leaves, dragged them to her hiding spot, and hung them up like curtains.
“We didn’t observe that behavior but I don’t think there’s any other way for leaves to appear on little strands of silk,” Kuntner said.
The first spider was found hanging among dead leaves that were lashed to the tree branches with spider silk, making the researchers suspect that the female spider went down to the forest floor, gathered up dead leaves, dragged them to her hiding spot, and hung them up like curtains.
“We didn’t observe that behavior but I don’t think there’s any other way for leaves to appear on little strands of silk,” Kuntner said.
“The hung leaves were sort of a giveaway that it had to be a spider and one of the leaves, of course, turned out not to be a leaf at all.”
'I was so taken aback.'
Dr. Kuntner and his colleagues speculate that the arachnid they've discovered is a new species of orb-web spider, and the first known to mimic a leaf.
The scientists suspect that the spider uses its disguise to hide from predators and sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
But what the new species eats remains a mystery.
The spider mimics leaves with its greenish brown colour, while a long, winding neck-like structure connects its head and chest to its abdomen.
Its teardrop-shaped body even bears markings that resemble the veins of a leaf.
'Its disguise is so good that it might explain why so few of these spiders have been collected.
'Even trained scientists have a hard time spotting them,' Dr. Kuntner said.
Dr. Kuntner and his team have only managed to find two of the spiders so far, which they credit to the arachnids' exceptional hiding skills.
A genetic analysis of the two specimens suggests they may be a new species, but further testing is needed for full confirmation.
The results were published in the Journal of Arachnology.
Dr. Kuntner and his colleagues speculate that the arachnid they've discovered is a new species of orb-web spider, and the first known to mimic a leaf.
The scientists suspect that the spider uses its disguise to hide from predators and sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
But what the new species eats remains a mystery.
The spider mimics leaves with its greenish brown colour, while a long, winding neck-like structure connects its head and chest to its abdomen.
Its teardrop-shaped body even bears markings that resemble the veins of a leaf.
'Its disguise is so good that it might explain why so few of these spiders have been collected.
'Even trained scientists have a hard time spotting them,' Dr. Kuntner said.
Dr. Kuntner and his team have only managed to find two of the spiders so far, which they credit to the arachnids' exceptional hiding skills.
A genetic analysis of the two specimens suggests they may be a new species, but further testing is needed for full confirmation.
The results were published in the Journal of Arachnology.
Music: "Spellbound" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Journal of Arachnology , Daily Mail
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