Five New Species of Armored Cave Dwelling Spiders Discovered in Southwest China
Posted on March 14, 2014
Scientists have discovered five new species of armored cave dwelling spiders in Southwest China. The researchers found the spiders after exploring over 2000 caves in South China Karts. A male of the newly described species, Sinamma oxycer, is pictured above. It has a reddish-brown body with yellowish-brown legs.
The armored spiders all belong to the family Tetrablemmida. They are distinguished by their armor-like abdominal pattern. Two of the newly discovered spiders belong to the genus Tetrablemma. Spiders of this genus are distinguished by having only 4 eyes.
The new spiders are fully described here in ZooKeys. The total known spider species of China has increased from 2300 species to 4300 species in the last 10 years.
