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19/02/13/0338224 story

One Horned Tarantula is a Softie

posted by martyb on Wednesday February 13 2019, @06:28AM   
from the you-haven't-seen-a-brown-recluse?-Well,-they're...reclusive... dept.

RandomFactor writes:

As insect species decline, the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project found a new-to-science species of arachnid like this in central Angola.

Growing out of the back of the newly discovered spider's head is a long soft 'horn' which gives it an appearance somewhat akin to a bizarre cross between a Fiddleback (or brown recluse) and a Tarantula from above.

Called 'chandachuly' by the people indigenous to the region the spider is reportedly not particularly dangerous to humans.

The horn, or 'foveal protruberance' is common to genus Ceratogyrus, of which the spider is a member, causing them to be called 'horned baboon spiders'. However other horns in the genus are hardened; a soft horn like this one is new, additionally the horn is exceptionally long. According to the researches that made the discovery:

'No other spider in the world possesses a similar foveal protuberance. The function of the foveal protuberance, or "horn, in Ceratogyrus is unknown"

For the curious, a fovea is an anatomic pit or depression. The fovea on a spider is a depression in the center of the carapace. In humans, the fovea is a central pit of closely packed cones in the eye providing our clearest point of vision.

See also this article for more details.

Journal Reference:
John M. Midgley, Ian Engelbrecht. New collection records for Theraphosidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae) in Angola, with the description of a remarkable new species of Ceratogyrus. African Invertebrates, 2019; 60 (1): 1 DOI: 10.3897/afrinvertebr.60.32141

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Original Submission

• "in humans, the fovea is a central pit" (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday February 13 2019, @06:53AM

  by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday February 13 2019, @06:53AM (#800521) Homepage Journal

  You say that like it's a bad thing.

  --
  Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]

• the spider is reportedly not particularly dangerou (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @07:40AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @07:40AM (#800528)

  Good.
  And squishy soft.
  Excellent characteristics in a spider imoho

• Comment Below Threshold (1 child)

  How fake? How fake? (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:03AM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:03AM (#800531)

  Okay! Four khallows! But good khallows.

  • Comment Below Threshold

    Re:How fake? (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:47AM (#800539)

    Soft and squishy khallows, or the standard fluffy khallows?

    Parent

• Worse are the imposters Worse are the imposters (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:53AM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:53AM (#800540)

  Instead of a Black Widow, try an Australian Reback spider.
  Or swap out the Brown Recluse for the Violin Back spider, also called the Brown Violence spider.
  No fake horns here, actual venom. But not like the stupid Marvel movie.

  • Re:Worse are the imposters (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @01:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @01:36PM (#800585)

    Redback, perhaps?

    Parent

• I can't be the only one seeing this (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:01PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:01PM (#800604)

  How long until they make a sex doll out of this concept?

• Thanks (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:23PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:23PM (#800717)

  The fovea on a spider is a depression in the center of the carapace.

  Oh, ok, thanks. That made it abundantly clear now.