A new species of spider has benn found in Brazil. The researchers named it after the notorius character from the Lord of the Rings series.
A couple of researchers from the Sao Paulo and San Carlos Universities, have discovered a new species of spider. Sméagol spider found in Brazil is partial to living in dark musty caves, much like his counterpart from the Lord of the Rings movie franchise.
Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha, one of the scientists that made this discovery, reported that the arachnid was spotted in a limestone cave, near the state of Minas Gerais. We all remember Sméagol, from the Lord of the Rings, the hobbit who was seduced and poisoned by the Ring of Power, later to become the shifty Gollum. Like the Gollum character, the spider fancies dark and decrepit caves which they use in order to hatch their eggs and raise their offspring.
The new species of spider, also referred to as the harvestmen, is very solitary and sedentary. Researchers declared that the spider has no eyes and as for its skin, they said that it closely resembles the legendary hobbit villain. The spider doesn’t have a large amount of pigmentation glands, hence they tend to have a specific color, a sort of pallid yellow.
The team of biologists observed approximately 14 adults and offspring. During the period of observation, the scientists have noted that the spiders tend to stay very close to water sources, more specific, to wet cave walls. They also seem to conglomerate in spots where there are high quantities of organic deposits.
It also seems that the spiders exhibit behaviors typically attributed to scavengers. One of the members from the team noted that one adult was spotted rummaging through a rotten carcass found in the waste. Overall, it would seem that the juvenile spiders are more sedentary, while the adults tend to be much more active.
The Sméagol spider found in Brazil was named landumoena sméagol, after the notorious character from the Lord of the Rings movies. Now, the team of biologists are concentrating on setting up a conservation area, in order to offer protection to this new species of spider. New conservation policies must be drafted and updated, to insure that the spider’s natural habitat is not disturbed in any way.
May the spider won’t go on legendary adventures alongside Sam and Frodo, showing them the road into the hearth of Mordor. It may very well be that the spiders are more akin to Shylob, then they are to the shifty and guttural character staring in the series.
Image source:deviantart.net
