'Rare and giant' trapdoor spider species, Euoplos dignitas, discovered in Brigalow Belt
A new "rare and giant" species of trapdoor spider that can only be found in central Queensland's Brigalow Belt has been discovered by researchers.
According to ABC Australia, the nocturnal species can be found in the black soil near Eidsvold and Monto, west of Bundaberg, burrowed inside trapdoors about the size of a 50-cent piece.
Arachnologist Michael Rix stated that the female trapdoor spiders, which are the larger of the two species, have a body length of almost five centimeters.
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The Project DIG team at the Queensland Museum made an exciting find, but according to Dr Rix, the species is endangered. It's uncommon and potentially under threat, he said. The scientific name of the spider, according to Dr Rix, chief scientist and curator of arachnology at the museum, is a reference to both the undertaking and the spider's enormous size. He said, "The scientific term is Euoplos dignitas. "'Dignitas' is a Latin adjective that means dignity or greatness, and 'Euoplos' is a group of trapdoor spiders -- we call them the golden trapdoor spiders."
Dr Rix said the spiders spent the first five to seven years of their lives in burrows, until the males came out and wandered the landscape to find female burrows. "The males of this species are what we sort of call a really honey-red color — they're really quite stunning," he said. Dr Rix said the females were darker and stockier, because they spent their entire lives underground.
He said they posed no serious threat to humans. "They have venom apparatus in the fangs, but none of the Australian trapdoor spiders in the group are known to be dangerously venomous," he said. Dr Rix said scientists were concerned about the future of the species. "Places like the Brigalow Belt have been really heavily cleared for agriculture and stock and other land uses," he said.
Dr Rix said trapdoor spiders were suited to natural woodland remnants. "They're not very good at getting around the landscape and dispersing — for example, compared to a flying insect," he said. "They can take between five and eight years to mature and to start breeding." He said more surveys needed to be done in the general area. "We're a little bit concerned for it," he said. "It doesn't seem to be doing too well in the natural environment, which is a bit of a worry." The confirmation of the new species was published in the Journal of Arachnology.
