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RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

As insect species decline, Nat Geo finds new arachnids like this [dailymail.co.uk] 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 (cue: is it really a discovery if people knew about them?) 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 an 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.

Original Submission