MussicOnPro! Posted October 14, 2021 Posted October 14, 2021 The new species of spider is the first to be exclusively described by Ecuadorian scientists in the history of zoology in the country. A study developed by researchers from the San Francisco de Quito University and the National Biodiversity Institute (INABIO) describes for the first time a type of rare hunting spider in Ecuador, located in the Amazon region. This was reported by INABIO on Wednesday, stating in a statement that it belongs to the Taczanowskia family and was collected in a community of the Waorani indigenous nationality in the Curaray river basin, in the Amazon lowlands. The new species belongs to a very rare group that has very particular customs, because instead of weaving orbicular webs like other spiders of the Araneidae family, the Taczanowskia hunt by stalking. These arachnids stand on leaves and use their long nails on their feet as knives to hunt their prey. The species was baptized as Taczanowskia onowoka, which means spirit in the Waorani language, a word chosen in recognition of that original people, which has a great connection with biodiversity and the Amazon, the bulletin said. Also because its members provided support and authorization so that investigations could be carried out in their ancestral territories. Furthermore, the new species of spider is the first to be described exclusively by Ecuadorian scientists in the history of zoology in the country. According to the researchers, the new species described can be easily identified and differentiated from all other Taczanowskia by the characteristics of its abdomen, which has a light-dark coloration on the back and sides, as well as a reticulum of white hairs, and two tubercles. big. The Taczanowskia is one of the lesser known genera of American spiders and the records on the continent are very meager since only five species belonging to the family have been described in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. The Curaray river basin, where the new species was found, is part of one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world: the Napo river basin. It has an immense amount of different species of flora and fauna that are not found anywhere else on the planet, indicates INABIO. The Ecuadorian spider was discovered during the expeditions of the “Discover Napo” project, an initiative developed by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in association with the WCS organization and funded by the Moore Foundation. LINK: https://www.eluniverso.com/larevista/ecologia/descubren-una-nueva-especie-de-arana-cazadora-en-la-amazonia-ecuatoriana-nota/
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