A new species of tarantula was discovered in the southwestern African nation of Angola. What’s most intriguing about this new spider, called Ceratogyrus attonitifer, is the horn-like appendage protruding from its back. It belongs to the genus of Ceratogyrus (horned baboon spiders), yet scientists haven’t seen anything quite like this new species.
The researcher who discovered the horned tarantula, John Midgley, showed photos of the arachnid to Ian Engelbrecht, an expert on spiders, and he didn’t believe the pictures were real at first. “I knew then we had discovered a new species,” Midgley told National Geographic. “It’s rare to know you have something special so early in the process.”
After Midgley convinced his fellow researcher that the photos were not photoshopped, the two set out to document the strange new species of spider. “The new species of Ceratogyrus described here is remarkable,” the researchers wrote in their study, which appeared in the journal African Invertebrates. “No other spider in the world possesses a similar foveal protuberance [horn].”
The scientists haven’t determined what function the horn serves, yet there’s no question that it’s different than anything they have seen before. “The protuberance of C.attonitifer is unique in its length, as well as being soft, whereas this structure is fully sclerotized [hardened] in all other genera where it is known to occur,” they noted.
African Rear-Horned Baboon Tarantula (Ceratogyrus darlingi) (Willem Van Zyl/Shutterstock)
This unique tarantula might be new to entomologists, though Angolans are familiar with it. In the Luchazi language, the spider is called Chandachuly, the scientists noted. It preys mostly upon insects, and local informants explained that the spider’s “venom is not considered to be dangerous, though bites may result in infections,” the scientists wrote.
Its scientific name, Ceratogyrus attonitifer, means “bearer of astonishment,” so named because of its incredible appearance.
This particular species is also incredibly elusive. Midgley found Ceratogyrus dens that went down as far as 2 feet, and he had to carefully lure the tarantulas out using blades of grass. “It was a lot like fishing,” he told National Geographic. “If you don’t hold on tight, they can pull the grass right out of your hand.”
Getting a chance to see the spiders up close at all was equally lucky, as political conditions in Angola have only recently allowed for such exploration. A civil war raged in the country from 1975 on and off until 2002. “Access to central Angola is also logistically difficult, resulting in a sampling gap where high potential for biodiversity exploration exists,” the scientists wrote.
Researchers also have to be careful about revealing the exact locations of their finds, as poachers in the exotic animal trade might use their coordinates to raid wild populations. Thankfully, the National Geographic Society, along with conservationists from the region, launched the Okavango Wilderness Project to survey the wild areas of Angola and its neighbors where these unique tarantulas live.
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