Climate change and habitat loss threaten the newly named trapdoor spider.
Scientists from the University of California, Davis, have identified a previously unknown trapdoor spider species lurking in the coastal sand dunes of California. This newly recognized species, Aptostichus ramirezae, shares close evolutionary ties with Aptostichus simus, which inhabits coastal areas stretching from Monterey down to Baja California, Mexico.
According to research published in Ecology and Evolution, what researchers previously thought was a single species has turned out to be two distinct ones.
“While there are over 50,000 species of spiders worldwide, there are probably hundreds of thousands left to be discovered, even along the coast where new spider species may be hiding just underfoot of California beachgoers,” said senior author Jason Bond, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Trapdoor spiders belong to a group of small, reclusive arachnids related to tarantulas. Female trapdoor spiders spend their entire existence below ground inside burrows lined with silk and covered by a hinged door that blends into the surroundings. They remain motionless while sensing vibrations from above, only venturing out to capture prey that strays too near their concealed entrance.
“There are now four known species of trapdoor spiders in California that live exclusively in coastal dune habitats,” said corresponding author Emma Jochim, a doctoral student in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. “The one we were looking at as part of this study was the most widespread, ranging from Moss Landing near Monterey down to Baja California — which is a pretty wide range for a trapdoor spider, given that they don’t easily leave their burrows to disperse.”
