Jellybean Goblin Spider Discovered in Australia
Posted on February 26, 2014
Australia's ABC News reports that a new spider, the jellybean goblin spider (Opopaea broadwater), has been discovered by researchers from the Queensland Museum. The Queensland Museum researchers were led by Dr. Barbara Baehr.
The jellybean goblin spider (pictured above) was discovered in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The tiny spider is just 1 millimeter long and has an armor-like shell. The scientists say the jellybean goblin spider is very sensitive to humidity and its shell helps protect it from desiccation.
Dr. Baehr tells ABC Southern Queensland, "They're really cute little spiders, not like one of those big hairy ones you'd be scared of! The males have a little feature in front of their mouth that looks like a jellybean. So we called it 'jellybean' as a common name."
The researchers also discovered another new spider species, the reddish brown swift spider (Leichhardteus badius), in the Bunya Mountains. The swift spider lives with ants. It also runs like an ant and is ant-sized. You can view a photo of the reddish brown swift spider here.