Rare giant spider species spotted in Queensland

A new and large species of spider has been found living in Queensland, Australia, and researchers say it's in need of protection.

A new and large species of spider has been found living in Queensland, Australia, and researchers say it's in need of protection.

Rare and colourful, the tarantula-like creature is a type of golden trapdoor spider belonging to the genus Euoplos, which since 2017 has been the subject of an extensive research program, according to a study published March 15 in the Journal of Arachnology.

Now called Euoplos dignita, the species was first discovered in the early 20th century, near the towns of Monto and Eidsvold, but it remained undescribed and unnamed due to a lack of research, said study author Michael Rix, principal curator of arachnology at the Queensland Museum Network, via email.

For years, there have been only a handful of Euoplos dignita specimens in the Queensland Museum's collection, all but one of which were collected before the 1970s. There were no known males among them — which posed a significant obstacle for Rix and his research team.

Having a male specimen is important for being able to identify and name a species within the Mygalomorphae order, which Euoplos spiders are part of, said Paula Cushing, senior curator in vertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Cushing, who is also secretary of the American Arachnological Society, wasn't involved in the study.

"Oftentimes, in order to figure out if what you're looking at is new to science, you almost always, with spiders, have to examine the genitalia," she added.

So the researchers needed new genetic material they could test from a living male specimen — which meant they had to find one.