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Arachnophobes, look away now.
In yet more horrific creepy crawly-related news, four new sub-species of tarantula with massive penises have been found.
It’s only a few days since we were distressed by the discovery of giant 16inch stick insect with a wingspan comparable to a small bird’s in Australia.
But now researchers say the four new tarantula species are so distinct they form their own genus, called satyrex.
The four species have been found in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, and they have the longest palps – the name of the reproductive appendages used for mating – ever recorded in tarantulas.
One of them, the satyrex ferox, has palps measuring up to 5cm which is almost four times the length of its head and thorax, and almost as long as its longest legs.
And while you’d think the insects would be getting up, close and personal while mating, this species uses their incredible length to remain at a safe distance from the highly aggressive females.
It appears dating is difficult no matter where in the animal kingdom you’re from.
The study explains why the satyrex might need to keep their distance: ‘This appears to facilitate copulation while minimising the risk of cannibalism, as it allows the male to position himself slightly away from the female rather than directly beneath her.
‘This is plausible given the extremely aggressive defence behaviour observed in females of this genus.’
All members of the satyrex genus live underground, digging burrows beneath shrubs and rocks.
As well as the satyrex ferox, the new genus includes species named after their regions, satyrex arabicus and satyrex somalicus, and a brightly coloured species, satyrex speciosus.
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Dr Alireza Zamani of the University of Turku, who led the study, said: ‘This species is highly defensive. At the slightest disturbance, it raises its front legs in a threat posture and produces a loud hissing sound by rubbing specialised hairs on the basal segments of the front legs against each other.’
Who could blame them?
Not only were four new satyrex species discovered, but another kind of tarantula, previously classified under the monocentropus genus, has now been reclassified as satyrex longimanus.
Dr Zamani concluded: ‘The much longer palps of satyrex longimanus and the four newly described species were among the primary characters that led us to establish a new genus for these spiders, rather than place them in Monocentropus.
‘So at least in tarantula taxonomy, it seems that size really does matter.’
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