Clowning Around with Crab Spiders!

Saw this photo at TheFeaturedCreature.com and had to share!

(Photo Credit: Igor Ryabov)

This ‘scary clown’ spider is actually a species of crab spider in the family Thomisidae. Ukrainian photographer Igor Ryabov, 44, a full time engineer, has been experimenting with macro photography for the past three years and spotted the crab spider near to his house.

Tell me this thing doesn’t remind you of Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s “It!”

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Now that’s a BIG bug!

We here in The Great White North have our ‘insect issues.’ Horse flies, black flies, mosquitoes, etc.

(Black flies – they’ll rip a chunk out of you when they bite)

But in other parts of the world, bugs take on an entirely new dimension.

(This kid is so blasé about the whole thing. Most kids I know would have a stroke) 

There’s big…

(How’d you like to find this in your sleeping bag?)

And then there’s BIG.

(You can’t be serious!)

As in effen HUGE!

(Honey? We may have an infestation problem!)

Nightmare-inducing enormous!

(This may not technically be a bug… but still… it’s scary!)

I don’t know how people live in places that have these kinds of things crawling around and not go insane.

(This spider eats mice and snakes!)

I mean really!

So the next time you’re kvetching about mosquitoes… thank goodness you live where these things don’t!

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Fossilized Creature named after Johnny Depp!

I have to hand it once again to the intrepid geeks and nerdlings over at ScienceDaily.com!

Actor Johnny Depp Immortalized in Name of Fossilized Creature With ‘Scissor Hand’ Claws

The article begins, “A scientist has discovered an ancient extinct creature with ‘scissor hand-like’ claws in fossil records and has named it in honour of his favourite movie star.”

The 505-million-year-old fossil called Kooteninchela deppi (pronounced Koo-ten-ee-che-la depp-eye), which is a distant ancestor of lobsters and scorpions, was named after the actor Johnny Depp for his starring role as Edward Scissorhands — a movie about an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands.

(What a cutie. Just like its namesake!)

Kooteninchela deppi is helping researchers to piece together more information about life on Earth during the Cambrian period when nearly all modern animal types emerged.

David Legg, who carried out the research as part of his PhD in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says:

“When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands. Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as ‘chela’ is Latin for claws or scissors. In truth, I am also a bit of a Depp fan and so what better way to honour the man than to immortalise him as an ancient creature that once roamed the sea?”

It lived in shallow seas off the coast of what is now British Columbia, Canada, although in those days, the area was closer to the equator.

It was approximately four centimetres long with a trunk for a body and millipede-like legs and large eyes which it used to search for food along the sea floor, according to research published in the Journal of Palaeontology.

The researcher believes that Kooteninchela deppi would have been a hunter or scavenger. Its large Edward Scissorhands-like claws with their elongated spines may have been used to capture prey, or they could have helped it to probe the sea floor looking for sea creatures hiding in sediment.

(Kooteninchela deppi – a distant relative of lobsters & scorpions)

It also had large eyes composed of many lenses like the compound eyes of a fly. They were positioned on top of movable stalks called peduncles to help it more easily search for food and look out for predators.

The researchers discovered that Kooteninchela deppi belongs to a group known as the ‘great-appendage’ arthropods, which includes spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, insects and crabs.

Mr Legg said: ‘Just imagine it – the prawns covered in mayonnaise in your sandwich, the spider climbing up your wall and even the fly that has been banging into your window and annoyingly flying into your face are all descendants of Kooteninchela deppi.’

‘Current estimates indicate that there are more than one million known insects and potentially 10 million more yet to be categorised, which potentially means that Kooteninchela deppi has a huge family tree.’

Legg now wants to study the fossils from the Ordovician period, when species diversity increased.

The research was published in the Journal of Palaeontology 2 May 2013.

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Journal Reference:

1. David Legg. Multi-Segmented Arthropods from the Middle Cambrian of British Columbia (Canada). Journal of Paleontology, 2013; 87 (3): 493 DOI: 10.1666/12-112.1

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Steampunk Spiders!

Steampunk [1] has inspired much in the way of design, fashion, art, etc. Its gadgets are delightful and its vision of a Victorian era that never was is intriguing.

Especially when it comes to steampunk spiders! [2]

There’s something about the spider that really brings out the best in steampunk designers.

The spindly legs, the abdomen that’s really itching for gear work.

It also helps that actual spiders look more like machines than living creatures.

I just adore these little creations.

I simply can’t get enough of them!

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[1] Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Therefore, steampunk works are often set in an alternate history of the 19th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West”, in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, and China Mieville. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace’s Analytical Engine. (Wikipedia)

[2] Steampunk spiders – also a terrific name for a band!

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What’s With the Spiders??

I get this question a lot, really.

Why the fixation on arachnology?

Spiders are interesting, sure…

But they’re not cute and cuddly like some of our furrier friends.

(I will call him Squishy. And he will be mine… and he will be my Squishy!)

Although some are rather cute…

Some spiders are downright alarming!

(It’s OK, honey… I got this one!)

In their own ‘other-worldly’ way, spiders can be both awesome and beautiful.

So let’s try not to freak out next time we see our multi-legged little pals.

Look on the bright side… they eat other critters!

(OK, not exactly what I had in mind)

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Spider Version of Bigfoot in Pacific West Coast Caves!!

The folks over at ScienceDaily.com have alerted us to a new and terrifying menace on the West Coast!!

Spider Version of Bigfoot Emerges from Caves in the Pacific Northwest

The new spider breaks new ground in arachnology!

(Trogloraptor)

The article begins, “The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are renowned for their unique and ancient animals and plants, such as coast redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and the legendary Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch). Whereas Bigfoot is probably just fiction, a huge, newly discovered spider is very real. Trogloraptor (or “cave robber”) is named for its cave home and spectacular, elongate claws. It is a spider so evolutionarily special that it represents not only a new genus and species, but also a new family (Trogloraptoridae). Even for the species-rich insects and arachnids, to discover a new, previously unknown family is an historic moment.”

(Scanning electron micrograph – Trogloraptor spider claw)

As the boys over at Wired Science put it, “The spider is about 1.5 inches wide with its legs stretched out, bigger than a half-dollar coin. It was found living in loose strands of web hanging from cave ceilings and under forest debris. It wields a set of lethal-looking claws (right), but its hunting and fighting behaviors remain to be seen.”

Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences, San Diego State University, and citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy all helped discover the spiders. The California Academy of Sciences team led the study to analyze and describe the new arachnid family.

Well done, geeks. We didn’t need to sleep tonight, anyway!

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Images: California Academy of Sciences

Journal Reference:

1. Charles Griswold, Tracy Audisio, Joel Ledford. An extraordinary new family of spiders from caves in the Pacific Northwest (Araneae, Trogloraptoridae, new family). ZooKeys, 2012; 215 (0): 77 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.215.3547

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Brainy Spiders!

OK… there I was, minding my own business, browsing through the Boxing Day edition of the New York Times, if you will… when all of a sudden, my eyes fell on this little article…

Tiniest of Spiders Are Loaded With Brains!

(Nephila clavipes… one bright little bug!)

I ask you… how could I NOT read that right away??

And what makes these little bugs [1] so brainy?

Well, small spiders such as the Golden Silk Spider [aka Banana Spider, aka Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes)] and other much tinier spiders in the genus Mysmena have huge brains. In fact, they have brains SO big… they actually spread out into other parts of the spider’s body, filling up not only the body cavity but also spilling out into their legs!

(Do you love me for my legs or my brains? Why choose!?)

As the Times article observes, while the smallest had smaller brains in absolute terms, relatively speaking their brains were enormous. In other words, the smaller the spider the bigger the brain.

“The basic trend was that the smaller the spider, the relatively larger its brain is,” said William Eberhard, a biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Costa Rica and an author of the study, which appears in the journal Arthropod Structure & Development.

OK… so they’re smart. What’s the advantage?

(Do I look like the smart type?)

Well… since the smallest spiders make a major investment in brain size, they are able to build the same kinds of complex webs as larger spiders, Dr. Eberhard said.

Or, as my favourite science geeks, the gang at ScienceDaily.com, put it, “Whole New Meaning for Thinking on Your Feet: Brains of Small Spiders Overflow into Legs“! [2]

“We suspected that the spiderlings might be mostly brain because there is a general rule for all animals, called Haller’s rule, that says that as body size goes down, the proportion of the body taken up by the brain increases,” said William Wcislo, another staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. “Human brains only represent about 2-3 percent of our body mass. Some of the tiniest ant brains that we’ve measured represent about 15 percent of their biomass, and some of these spiders are much smaller.”

(Enormous brains in very tiny packages… Anjouanella comorensis)

The enormous biodiversity of spiders in Panama and Costa Rica made it possible for researchers to measure brain extension in spiders with a huge range of body sizes. Nephila clavipes, a rainforest giant weighs 400,000 times more than the smallest spiders in the study, nymphs of spiders in the genus Mysmena.

So boys and girls, the smaller the spider the more you know that… at least when it comes to brains … size DOES matter.

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[1] Yeah, yeah… spiders aren’t actually bugs. I know.

[2] I don’t know who comes up with the article headlines over at ScienceDaily.com or any of the other science geek websites… but they all should get a raise in salary!

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Our Readers Write: Year End Thoughts

A year-end sampling of some of the responses, comments and opinions received from our readers… (translated from the original Chiropteran, various Hexapodan languages and dialects, Arachnidan, Anuran and Zombese).

(A gallery of familiar faces)

Dear Kosher Samurai…

A close friend recommended I read your blog, saying that I would most likely enjoy your views on me and those like me. “Finally!” I thought, “Someone’s going to tell the truth about my Order, Families, Genera and Species!” It was with a hopeful anticipation that I began going through your posts. What a disappointment! I cannot imagine more biased, unfair and uninformed viewpoints as those espoused in your blog. You swing between gross stereotypes and cutesy-homey caricatures. While you profess an affection for my kind, you have an unusual way of showing it.

We deserve better.

A Bat

(You tawkin’ ’bout me??)

Dear Kosher Samurai…

We’ve kept silent for far too long. We are confident we speak for all of us when we say that we’ve had enough of being grist for your mill. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size for a change? Why do you always taunt and belittle the smallest of creatures? I don’t see you writing any snide remarks about hippos or rhinos. What’s the matter? Chicken? (No offence to chickens, of course. We’re sure you’ll be planning a blog article denigrating them, too).

Lay off, you bully!

The Ants

(Mmmmmm….)

Hey!

Zombie Good. Blog Bad!

A Zombie

(Hang in there!)

Dear Kosher Samurai…

What is it with you and frogs? And while we’re at it, what possessed you to write an article about some unholy hybrid of frog and bat? What kind of sicko are you, anyway? Like we don’t have enough problems with humans taking away our wetland habitats! Now we have to deal with jerks like you?

Get stuffed!

The Frogs

(Scarab Beetle. If they were good enough for Pharoah…)

Kosher Samurai…

We have to warn you, we are pretty steamed at the wise-cracks you publish regularly about us. You are a nasty little man who is probably tapping away at the keyboard out of sheer frustration at your pathetic excuse for a life. Just remember… we know where you live. Sleep tight, sucker!

The Bugs & Beetles

(Why pull a leg when you can pull eight?)

Dear Kosher Samurai…

We are going to presume that you do not harbour any deep-seated ill-feelings towards us. We are going to presume that you are merely bored and are trying to find amusement where you can. We can understand this. We’ve been around a lot longer that you have and, trust us, we know from boredom. We will take it at face value that you find us amusing. We only wish we could say the same about you and your blog. We do not hold you in contempt nor should you hold us in contempt. We take you at your word that you enjoy Entomology perhaps a bit more than we enjoy Anthropology. Let’s just step back, take a breath… and begin the new year with a mutual resolution to be more sensitive to each other, shall we? We hope you enjoy the holidays and we wish you and your loved ones well.

The Arachnid Alliance

(I see you, Buddy!)

Hey, Samurai…

Not cool, man. You are SO finished!

The Insects

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Bigger, Scarier Weapons Help Spiders Get the Girl!

Wandering, as I am wont to do, through the pages of ScienceDaily.com, I thought… how about checking out the latest studies in arachnid sex!? Which brought me in pretty quick order to their recent article…

Yes, boys and girls, size matters… at least to male jumping spiders… at least when it comes to weapons.

(Yikes. This guy is the Marty Feldman of the spider world!)

OK, let me back-track a little bit.

The article begins, “If you’re a red-headed guy with eight bulging eyes and a unibrow, size does indeed matter for getting the girl. More specifically, the bigger a male jumping spider’s weapons appear to be, the more likely his rival will slink away without a fight, leaving the bigger guy a clear path to the waiting female.”

(Duke University graduate student Cynthia Tedore. Smart AND gorgeous!)

Duke University graduate student Cynthia Tedore wanted to know what visual signals matter most to magnolia green jumping spiders, which have an impressive array of eyes, including two giant green ones that face forward. The benefit of these huge green eyes is key to Tedore’s studies and findings.

(Magnolia Green Jumping Spider. OK smart. Not so gorgeous)

Vision is clearly important to these quarter-inch animals, which can be “very predaceous and aggressive,” when love is in the air.

In Tedore’s lab in the basement of Duke’s biological sciences building, wire shelves are covered with row after row of Lucite boxes, each holding an individual chartreuse jumping spider.

How does she test the ‘more is more’ theory? Using female spider silk to put them in a competitive mood, Tedore pits the male spiders against one another in a one-on-one cage match! Rage in a Cage. Hell in a Cell. All in the name of science! [1]

So what did Tedore discover? Over the course of 68 of these cage matches, the male with the bigger chelicerae (heavy, bristling fangs hanging in front of their mouth parts), usually scared the other guy off without a fight.

(Male magnolia green jumping spider sporting an impressive pair of chelicerae)

“The males wave their forelegs at each other for a period, and then the smaller male runs off,” Tedore said. “That’s why we think they’re using vision to size each other up. Most of the time, the smaller one will run away before it comes to blows.”

Seven of the matches were scored as ties. Seventeen of the contests turned into shoving matches, with the spiders butting chelicerae against each other. Occasionally one would flip an opponent on his back, then chase and pounce on him. Tedore had to break up a couple of contests before time expired so that nobody got hurt. [2]

Tedore said her work provides another glimpse into how these creatures, which have tiny brains and never met their parents, manage to make decisions and navigate their world. “I don’t really think of them as conscious, but they’re following rules of some kind. I think of them more as robots.”

(Magnolia green jumping spider. When it comes to girls, more is more!)

In her next series of experiments, Tedore is pitting males against video images of other males that have artificially exaggerated chelicerae and altered colors. [3]

I… can’t… wait!!!

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[1] I’m liking this girl more and more!

[2] Seriously, now… how can you NOT like this girl!!??

[3] Cynthia… you are my idea of a wonderful woman!

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