"been crawling the world's tropics since the Devonian period, about 416 million years ago".
416 million years ago? Seriously? What a pile of rubbish. I'll rather get my information from a site that doesn't intertwine fact with fairy tales.
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New Whip Spider Attacks
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
A member of a new species of whip spider munches on a cricket in an Indonesian cave in an undated picture.
Found in 2004, the half-inch-long (centimeter-long) Sarax yayukae is one of four new whip spider species announced this month. All four were discovered during a series of expeditions in the Indonesian section of the island of Borneo (map), which also includes sections administered by Brunei and Malaysia.
These arachnids, also called tailless whip scorpions, are neither spiders nor scorpions and feature front legs that have evolved into long, flexible whiplike feelers. The "bizarre" creatures also have flat bodies and grasping appendages lined with spines, according to the study documenting the new species.
Though whip spiders have been crawling the world's tropics since the Devonian period, about 416 million years ago, relatively few whip spider species survive today, according to study leader Cahyo Rahmadi, a biologist at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in Jakarta.
The surviving whip spiders—many found only in small cave systems—may be threatened by plans for coal and limestone mining on Borneo, Rahmadi said by email. (See cave-exploration pictures.)
—Christine Dell'Amore
New whip spider study published September 15 in the journal Zootaxa.
Published September 28, 2010
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Prickly Character
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
Its spine-studded pedipalp appendages may look fearsome in close-up, but the new whip spider species Sarax sangkulirangensis—found in limestone caves in 2004—is relatively small at about a third of an inch (eight millimeters) long.
To find the four new species, study leader Rahmadi and colleagues traveled to remote Bornean locations, some accessible only by helicopter. But the chance to explore sights such as the "magnificent" Sangkulirang (map) karst was worth it, he said by email. (See pictures of Indonesia.)
(Related: "Young Whip Spiders Stay in Touch.")
Published September 28, 2010
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Long Arm of the Maw
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
Males of the new whip spider species Sarax mardua (pictured) have longer pedipalps than females.
Found in 2004, Sarax mardua lives only in the limestone caves of Sangkulirang, Indonesia, study leader Rahmadi said.
(See related pictures: "New Species Found in 'Lost World': Pinocchio Frog, More.")
Published September 28, 2010
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Spiny Predator
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
The newfound whip spider Sarax cavernicola is unique in that its primary pedipalp spines (pictured) are equal in size—other species in the genus have different-size primary spines, according to study leader Rahmadi.
Discovered in 2004, S. cavernicola also stands out because of its pale coloration and tiny eyes, adapted to dark cave life. In addition, S. cavernicola is big for a whip spider—about a half inch (12 millimeters) long.
Whip spiders hunt cave crickets, cave cockroaches, and other small invertebrates. Some Caribbean species will occasionally go underwater to hunt prawns, Rahmadi said.(See "Water Spider Spins Its Own 'Scuba Tank.'")
Published September 28, 2010
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Ready for Its Close-Up
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
Along with the new whip spiders (pictured, Sarax cavernicola head), Rahmadi's cave explorations uncovered new types of cave crabs and cave millipedes as well as a known species of giant cave cockroach.
(See pictures of "surreal" cave formations in Borneo.)
Published September 28, 2010
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Borneo Wanderer
Photograph courtesy Cahyo Rahmadi
Males of the newfound Sarax yayukae whip spider species have "strong and slender" pedipalps (pictured), while females have "shorter and stouter" mandibles, study leader Rahmadi said.
The species was first spotted in 2004 in a variety of habitats—both inside and outside of caves—suggesting S. yayukae can disperse farther than other whip spiders, he said.
(See a picture of a rare Kauai cave wolf spider carrying its babies.)
Published September 28, 2010
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