2023-07-27 09:55:43
Updated Thursday, July 27, 2023 – 09:55
The new species was baptized with the scientific name ‘Sadala rauli’, in honor of Ral Peaherrera de la Cadena, grandfather of the discoverer.
A specimen of the giant crab araa.Pedro PeaherreraEFE
researchers of the San Francisco de Quito University (USFQ) and the National Institute of Biodiversity (Inabio) have discovered the giant crab spider, a species not registered in the country until now. It has been located in the Yasun National Park, a biosphere reserve in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
This finding represents the first record of the spider genus “Sadala” in Ecuador, of which there was prior knowledge in countries such as Colombia and Brazil, Inabio specified in a report provided to EFE. The species was found by researchers Pedro Peaherrera and Diego Cisneros, from USFQ and Inabio, in a field investigation in the primary tropical forest preserved by the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, a scientific unit of the academic center located in the heart of the reserve. of the Yasun.
“The discovery of this new species was made in one of the most diverse protected areas not only in Ecuador, but in the world. Unfortunately, not all species are so lucky, because in our research we have discovered species that are highly threatened by the destruction of their natural habitats,” said Peaherrera, author of the study.
The new species was baptized with the scientific name ‘Sadala rauli’, in honor of Ral Peaherrera de la Cadena, the investigator’s grandfather. “At the moment it is only known from female specimens, which are somewhat similar to the females of two Peruvian Sadala species. The way to differentiate these species is through the morphology of the reproductive system, since they are very similar in their coloration” Peaherrera added.
He explained that the name of “giant crab spider This is due to the position they adopt when they stand on the vegetation with their legs extended to the sides and their large size compared to other more common spiders.” The species of “Sadala” are distributed in Central and South America, from Panama to central western Brazil, the researcher pointed out, specifying that “Sadala rauli is a spider that comes out at night, when it hunts insects, which it actively stalks among the vegetation one to two meters above the ground in the forest.” “.
“Unlike other spiders, this species does not weave webs to capture its prey,” he explained. For his part, Professor Diego Cisneros said that the new species was discovered when the two researchers were carrying out a field study within the framework of the Tropical Ecology subject, which USFQ teaches at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.
“For about 30 years old this station has been one of the guardians of the most biodiverse tropical forests in the world. The discovery of the new spider, Sadala rauli, is one of several studies that we carry out to reveal the immense diversity of these animals in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” remarked Cisneros.
The study suggested the possibility that there may be other areas of that sector of the jungle with the presence of the species “Sadala rauli or other species possibly not described in Ecuador”.
“That is why they require collections and additional studies to determine the richness and distribution of spiders, which seems to be underestimated,” the researcher pointed out. According to Inabio, “the diversity of spiders in the American tropics is enormous, but still largely unknown in Ecuador, where only around 1,000 are known. spider species, less than 25% of the known diversity of spiders in neighboring countries in the Andes”.
“The spiders are very important animals because of the ecological roles they play in nature. Spider species such as the new Sadala rauli feed on insects and other organisms, helping to regulate their populations,” he explained. The article on the discovery of the “Sadala rauli” spider has been published in the international scientific journal “Ecology and Evolution.” added Inabio, an entity attached to Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment.
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