Conservationists searching through the undergrowth of a remote mountain region have identified up to 50 new species of jumping spiders.
Medical science could benefit from the discoveries, said researchers, through the study of the chemicals contained in their venoms.
Insights into how to develop vision for robots and how to miniaturise could also be made by the study of the jumping spider eyes.
Along with spiders, which can leap 30 times their own body length, researchers discovered three previously unknown frogs, two plants and a stripy gecko.
“Our finding shows that the great age of discovery isn’t over by far,” said Professor Wayne Maddison, of the University of British Columbia, in Canada.
“Spider venom has evolved for millions of years to affect the neurological systems of the spider’s insect prey and each species of spider gives us another opportunity to find medically-useful chemicals.
“Jumping spiders with their remarkably miniaturized yet acute eyes could help us understand how to push the limits of vision. In addition to filling in the gaps in our planet’s natural history, exploring spider biodiversity and evolution could potentially inform fields as diverse as medicine and robotics.”
Jumping spiders have better vision than other types of spider and two of their eight eyes are especially well developed for high resolution vision. In effect, they have evolved a design that has deconstructed the eyeball and put it together, with modifications, section by section in miniature.
The retina of the spiders, said Professor Maddison, could be of particular interest because instead of the three-dimensional hemisphere in the human eyeball it has developed like a flat scanner.
The 30 to 50 new species of jumping spiders were spotted and caught during a survey of a region of Papua New Guinea led by Conservation International.
Among the new spiders were types that came from particularly unusual evolutionary branches and zoologists hope that these will offer new clues into how jumping spiders evolved, a question that remains a puzzle.
Professor Maddison, who estimates there are 5,000 species of jumping spider yet to be discovered around the world, said they evolved much more recently that other spiders.
Instead of building webs or responding to the motion of prey they have learnt to distinguish between different animals and their attack techniques depends on what they are tackling.
“Instead of sitting at the centre of a web, jumping spiders found a new way to make a living by wandering around their habitat and pouncing – like cats – on their prey,” he said.
He added: “Some of them are so cute. There is a whole lot of beauty in these small spiders if we look closely enough.”
A handful of non-jumping spiders and some beetles are also thought to be among the new species sound during the expedition but researchers have yet to complete their analysis.
Steve Richards, of CI, led the expedition last summer and said: “The vast Kaijende Uplands and nearby valleys represent one of Papua New Guinea’s largest undeveloped highlands wilderness areas.”
Video:
The logistics of doing field work in Papua New Guinea involved helicopters, supply drops, field camps, and lots of trekking through the jungle. Watch as Dr. Maddison documents one stage of his journey from Wanakipa to the main field site.
Though not from Papua New Guinea, this footage from Dr. Maddison shows a pair of spiders of the species Habronattus coecatus, in which the male is doing a courtship dance.
How do you document tiny spiders when you’re in an isolated field camp? Watch this video to find out. The camera is a simple waterproof digital camera with a lens glued onto it: crude but sturdy and good enough to document the species.
Dr. Maddison also shot video of the spiders in the camp. See several different types of spiders in action in this video: the genera are Agorius (looks like an ant!), Coccorchestes (looks like a beetle!), Leptathamas (looks like a bird dropping!), Chalcolecta, and Diolenius.
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