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#arachnids

3 posts3 participants0 posts today
michael

31-Jul-2025
New #tarantula species so feisty, males evolved the longest #genitalia to survive #mating

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

A logical bug in the headline - in those species where the male doesn't survive mating, it's not because of falling short, it's because #evolution has no better use for them than serving as a meal for the female. In which case they can't evolve any protective measure. #science #arachnids #ecology #newSpecies

EurekAlert!New tarantula species so feisty, males evolved the longest genitalia to survive matingFour new species of tarantulas have been discovered in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, and they have been placed in a newly established genus named Satyrex. They are highly unusual due to their male sexual organs, which are the longest known among all tarantulas. In the largest species, these appendages are almost four times longer than the front part of the body. These tarantulas are also highly aggressive and produce a loud hissing sound when threatened. The study was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺

Fossilized nervous system points to ocean origins for #spiders & relatives phys.org/news/2025-07-fossiliz

#Cambrian origin of the arachnid brain cell.com/current-biology/fullt

"The first creatures to come onto land were probably millipede-like and insect-like creatures... a Mollisonia-like arachnid also became adapted to terrestrial life, making early #insects and #millipedes their daily diet... the 1st #arachnids on land may have contributed to the #evolution of a critical defense mechanism: insect wings"

Bob LeFridge :tinoflag:

NZ's porous borders have allowed a little invader to take hold. The noble false widow spider is described as "one of the world’s most invasive".

“Although considered less dangerous than black widows, the venom of Steatoda nobilis contains similar toxins."

So far there have been confirmed sightings in Porirua, Christchurch, Nelson, Northland and Waikato.

stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360742048/

www.stuff.co.nzStuff
#NZ#Arachnids#NobleFalseWidow
Continued thread
neville park

OK, sequel to my post almost exactly 1 year ago about milkweed pollinia…I discovered something amazing!

I was looking at some milkweed plants that had just started flowering and noticed a honeybee trying to get its leg unstuck from a flower. Because it's Peak Anystid, there were also many whirligig mites running around on the flowering umbels. These mites almost never stay still, yet one *was*. Could it also be stuck? YES! It was struggling to get out.

I looked carefully at more of the flowers and found a dead whirligig mite, also with its leg stuck in a flower.

I wonder how many other arthropods accidentally fall prey to the flowers?!

#bugstodon#Mitestodon#arachnids
neville park

The sidewalk mites (_Balaustium_) that swarm over the ground this time of year primarily eat pollen, but they will also scavenge dead bugs (I do not think they are actually predatory). This horde has found an ant pupa, I think?

I am fascinated by this behaviour and try to catch it at least once every summer.

#DailyMiteVid#Mitestodon#MiteBehaviour
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