March 26, 2009
Weekly News UpdateScientist Discovers New Spider Species
Dozens of new species of jumping spiders were found during a recent expedition in Papua New Guinea. (Photo credit: Wayne Maddison)
An expedition into one of the largest undeveloped areas on Papua New Guinea resulted in the discovery of dozens of new species of jumping spiders. The discovery was made by Wayne Maddison, a professor of zoology and botany and director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Maddison was in Papua New Guinea on an expedition with Conservation International (CI), a non-profit organization focused on protecting biodiversity and showing people how to co-exist with nature. The expedition focused on Papua New Guinea's Kaijende Highlands and Hewa wilderness areas. The scientists were in Papua New Guinea to conduct a biodiversity survey as part of CI's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP). Their survey counted more than 600 species, including invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants.
During the survey, Maddison collected over 500 individual jumping spiders. These spiders accounted for dozens of different species, including several species new to science. As of now, scientists have confirmed that six species are indeed new to science. However, there are at least 30 species that have yet to be completely identified, and may turn out to also be examples of new species as well. This discovery of jumping spiders with unique characteristics may help scientists determine when certain traits specific to jumping spiders evolved.
In addition to discovering at several new species of jumping spiders, the researchers also discovered four new amphibian species and two new plant species.