A hair’s breadth away: New tarantula species and genus honors Gabriel García Márquez

June 30, 2016

With its extraordinary defensive hairs, a Colombian tarantula proved itself as not only a new species, but also a new genus. It is hypothesised that the new spider is the first in its subfamily to use its stinging hairs in direct attack instead of ‘kicking’ them into the enemy. Described in the open access journal ZooKeys […]

New tarantula named after Johnny Cash among 14 spider species found in the United States

February 8, 2016

A new species of tarantula named after the famous singer-songwriter Johnny Cash is one of fourteen new spiders discovered in the southwestern United States. While these charismatic spiders have captured the attention of people around the world, and have been made famous by Hollywood, little was actually known about them. The new descriptions nearly double […]