A brand new species of spider has been discovered in Western Australia, surprising scientists who previously thought they were restricted to the continent's tropical north and east.
According to 9News, the newly discovered species, a blind daddy long-legs spider, was located in boreholes in Western Australia's dry Pilbara region.
It's the first cave-adapted daddy long-legs to be reported on the continent, with other blind species of this genus previously only having been found in Southeast Asia.
"It represents a subfamily that was previously thought to be restricted to the tropical north and east of the continent," said Museum Koenig researcher Bernhard Huber.
"The new species suggests that these spiders were widely distributed in Australia before the continent’s aridification in the last tens of millions of years."
Earlier this year in March Australian scientists announced a new species of “giant” spider that can only be found in rural parts of Queensland.
Queensland Museum scientists announced it has been named Euoplos Dignitas. The trapdoor spider is only found in the Brigalow Belt in Central Queensland.
The species was named after the project which discovered the arachnid, Project DIG - a collaboration project with BHP mining and Queensland Museum.
SHARE ME