Terrifying new species of venomous spider is discovered in Miami that looks like a ‘small shiny black tarantula’ and can live for over 20 YEARS
- Scientists report the discovery of the Pine Rockland trapdoor spider in Miami
- It was first found by a zookeeper who was checking reptile traps back in 2012
- It’s a trapdoor spider – it lives in a burrow with a hinged cover to trick its prey
Scientists have found a new species of spider in Miami that looks like a ‘small shiny black tarantula’ and has venom that induces painful stings just like a bee.
The Pine Rockland trapdoor spider (Ummidia richmond) was first found by a zookeeper in the grounds of Zoo Miami in Florida.
With legs extended, the male is approximately the size of a one pound coin, while the female is estimated to be two to three times larger.
Ummidia is a trapdoor spider – meaning it lives in a burrow with a hinged cover like a trapdoor to hide from predators and snatch unlucky prey.
The Pine Rockland Trapdoor Spider (Ummidia richmond, pictured) was first found by a zookeeper who was checking reptile research traps in 2012
TRAPDOOR SPIDERS
- Trapdoor spiders live underground in burrows covered with doors made out of leaves or sticks to keep themselves hidden from predators
- Their diet consists of many insets including crickets, moths, beetles and grasshoppers that they snatch from the edge of their burrow
- Their venom is not considered dangerous to humans and will usually cause mild pain or swelling
Spiders of this type can live for decades in the same burrow for their entire life.
‘To me, it appears similar to a small shiny black tarantula,’ said Zoo Miami conservation chief Frank Ridgley.
‘Similar species are ambush predators –they create a web burrow down into soft and sandy substrate with a hinged door at the surface.
‘They spend their entire lives in that same burrow, waiting for prey to come past their trapdoor, then they lunge out from their camouflaged lair to grab their prey.’
Zoo Miami staff found the specimen back in 2012, in the pine rockland forest that surrounds the zoo, which is southwest of Miami city centre.
Staff took a photo of the specimen and shared it with the zoo’s conservation and research department for identification – but it didn’t match any existing records for known species in the region.
More than two years later, another spider was found and sent out to experts for an evaluation.
Eventually, it made its way to Dr Rebecca Godwin of Piedmont College in Georgia who confirmed that it was a previously undescribed species.
It’s part of the existing genus ummidia, which is related to tarantulas and was first described by Swedish arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell in 1875.
‘I had no doubt that it was a new species,’ said Dr Godwin, who has authored a paper describing the creature, published in ZooKeys.
The female has a lifespan upwards of 20 years, while the male takes up to seven years to mature before it leaves its burrow to find a mate and dies shortly after.
‘The individuals that zoo staff encountered were wandering males,’ Dr Godwin said.
The spider genus ummidia was first described by Swedish arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell in 1875. Pictured, Ummidia richmond
‘They have a rough carapace [shell] on their front half and a silvery-grey abdomen with a light-coloured patch on top. They’re really quite beautiful spiders.’
For humans, the spider’s venom is on par with a bee sting, according to Dr Ridgley at Zoo Miami, but it’s still effective against its prey – small invertebrates.
‘Spiders like this often rely on their size and strength to subdue their prey, and the venom often acts to help breakdown and liquefy the insides of their prey.’
The spiders themselves can be eaten by birds or parasitised by wasps, whose eggs will hatch and devour them, but the biggest danger to the arachnid is the loss of its habitat.
The first specimen was found in critically endangered pine rockland forest surrounding Zoo Miami, which is southwest of the city centre
Zoo Miami, which is the the largest zoo in Florida, is surrounded by pine rockland forest (stock picture)
‘I was both elated and worried by the discovery,’ said Dr Ridgley. ‘Who doesn’t want to be part of discovering something like a new species?
‘The other side of this discovery is that I am intimately familiar with the unique and globally critically-endangered habitat it comes from.
‘So I immediately thought that it is likely already imperilled.
Locally, only 1.5 per cent of the spider’s pine rockland habitat survives outside Everglades National Park, according to Zoo Miami, suggesting it could be threatened already.
‘Trapdoor spiders on the whole are very poor dispersers and tend to have very small ranges,’ said Dr Godwin.
‘It is likely that this species is limited to this small area of threatened habitat and subsequently could be threatened itself.’
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