spiders
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New Research Shows Funnel Webs Don’t Set Out to Kill Humans
Funnel webs are considered one of Australia’s most fearsome spiders, but their ability to kill humans is by accident rather than design, our new research shows. In findings published today, we reveal how the highly toxic and quick-acting venom of male funnel-web spiders is likely to have developed as a defence against predators. When male…
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Gollum-Like Daddy Long-Legs Discovered In The Bowels Of The Earth
Daddy long-legs—spider-like arachnids technically known as “harvestmen”—are already plenty unnerving, with their too-long-to-be-real limbs, jerky movements, and habit of clustering into a horrible, hairy mass. But researchers have recently unveiled a variety of harvestman totally new to science, and it cranks the creepy up to 11.
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Spider Eating A Pygmy Possum Is Obviously Australian
That’s a photo of a huntsman spider eating a pygmy possum. Yikes!
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New Tarantula Species Has Big, Weird, Floppy Horn
Tarantulas generally stick to a pretty predictable body plan — eight legs, long fangs, usually fuzzy. But a newly-described species of tarantula in the southern African country of Angola has thrown scientists a big curve ball. The tarantula is about as weird as it gets for spiders, sporting a long, pliable, droopy “horn” on its…