Giant Cave Spider Discovered in Oregon

What other fauna lurk undiscovered?

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 08.20.2012 at 4:07 pm 9 Comments

Trogloraptor This newly discovered spider is so evolutionarily special that it represents not only a new genus and species, but also a new family. ZooKeys

Oregon is not a safe place for arachnophobes, with at least 500 species of spiders known to inhabit forests, rotten logs and other dwellings. And now there’s this guy.

This new spider was found in caves in southwestern Oregon, a monumental discovery for citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy and arachnologists from the California Academy of Sciences. It hangs from cave ceilings and it has extraordinary raptor-like claws, hence its name — Trogloraptor, or “cave robber.” Its huge claws suggest it is a fierce predator, but no one is certain yet what it eats.

It is a very strange and special spider, with some features that suggest it’s a relative of the goblin spider, but with a litany of other features that make it evolutionarily unique. It’s so different that the guy above represents a new genus, species and family on the tree of life.

Cal Academy’s Charles Griswold, curator of arachnology; Joel Ledford, postdoctoral researcher; and Tracy Audisio, graduate student, collected and described this new family. Then colleagues from San Diego State University found some more of them living in old-growth redwood forests, according to a news release from the journal ZooKeys, which just published a report on the new arachnid.

Its true distribution is still unknown, which in and of itself is interesting. It's somewhat of a surprise that something so large — it’s four centimeters wide, about the size of a half-dollar — was not found already. The fact that it eluded scientists until now is startling, and it begs a creepy yet fascinating question: What else is out there, lurking in caves and logs, that remains to be discovered?

Previous Article: The Most Amazing Science Images Of The Week, August 13-17, 2012

Next Article: Quantum Processor Calculates That 15 = 3x5 (With Almost 50% Accuracy!)

9 Comments

Link to this comment

PeacedOut

08/20/12 at 4:50 pm

Hmmm, "Giant Cave Spider Discovered" ... that makes me think that it is the size of a large dog...

I did some digging around and apparently it's only a little more than an inch in size. "Leg measurements(Femur + Patella + Tibia + Metatarsus + Tarsus = [Total]): 8.25 + 1.40 + 9.25
+ 9.00 + 1.45 = [29.35]"...From the full article

Maybe you meant "Giant Cave Spider Discovery", "Giant Discovery of Cave Spider", "Cave Spider Discovery of Giant Proportions"?

Link to this comment

i1haha

08/20/12 at 5:00 pm

Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere else that this spider hangs from silk with its "raptor claw" legs outstretched to capture its prey. This seems pretty scary to me. XD

Link to this comment

Robot

08/20/12 at 8:08 pm

The reptile aliens created these to keep the humans out of their caves. They never anticipated arachnophobes enthusiast, go figure huh?

Link to this comment

nighthawkich

08/21/12 at 2:20 am

@i1haha

That is a common method of attack for web spinning predatory spiders. I agree with PeacedOut, this spider is a respectable size compared to the average North American species, but is by no means giant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_birdeater

The Goliath Birdeater on the otherhand, is a giant. Now having this 12-inch, 1/2 pound bad boy come flying at you would make me sh*t myself.

However, its not the big ones you have to worry about. This goliath, though intimidating, carries less potent venom than most wasps. as a result, the worst its venom can give you is an uncomfortable rash.

Link to this comment

hatandboots

08/21/12 at 7:23 am

nighthawkich,

I think the goliath bird eater has an incredible amount of strength though, which it uses instead of venom.
However, if I saw a goliath on my leg sinking its fangs into me and wrapping its hairy arms around my leg it wouldnt metter how much venom he has, the heart attack would kill me. :)

Link to this comment

ghost

08/21/12 at 9:15 am

this post reminds me of dwarf fortress and their fun Giant Cave Spiders!

to mars or bust!

Link to this comment

Robot

08/21/12 at 12:17 pm

Hmmm, this spider looks just the one that was nuclear contaminated that bit and created Spiderman?!

Link to this comment

Robot

08/22/12 at 6:23 pm

Just in case you wondered, here is the Spiderman song lyrics,lol.;)

.............................
Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.

Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spiderman.

In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.

Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame
He's ingnored
Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there's a hang up
You'll find the Spider man.

Link to this comment

quasi44

08/26/12 at 4:25 am

I gotta admit that I was thinking that whatever the new spider was, it was likely bigger than the Giant Brown House Spider, which eats other spiders and gets up to two and a half inches or so; or the almost identical Hobo Spider, that has a highly necrotic venom and will bite humans.

On Topic: Has anyone thought to ask the Coastal Tribes if they have any specific knowledge on this spider?
Thinking on those claws, I can't help but think of centipedes and millipedes. Common cave and log dwelling bugs.

Popular Tags

Science

All Tags All Photos All Videos

Science

+ More Photo Galleries

July 2013: The Future Of Flight

The incredible innovations, like drone swarms and perpetual flight, bringing aviation into the world of tomorrow. Plus: today's greatest sci-fi writers predict the future, the science behind the summer's biggest blockbusters, a Doctor Who-themed DIY 'bot, the organs you can do without, and much more.