Newly discovered spiders named after Star Wars Stormtroopers

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May 3, 2019

For all the Star Wars fans out the there: May the Fourth be with you!

Some interesting spider news from South America was announced. Researchers discovered a news species of spiders in Colombia.

Four of six bald-legged spiders will be named after the Star Wars Stormtroopers soldiers for their identical appearance and ability to camouflage, according to Geek.com.

A new genus had to be created for these particular type of spiders. One of the new species is called Stormtropis muisca. Bald-legged spiders are under the family Paratropididae.

The Stormtropis muisca species was recorded from more than 11,000 feet in the central Andes. It has the highest altitudinal record for the family.

Until now, bald-legged spiders had never been confirmed in Colombia. The spider do however, exist throughout north and central South America. Researchers also noted some unique behaviors compared to other species of bald-legged spiders.

The recent study was led by Carlos Perafan, Fernando Perez-Miles (Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay), and William Galvis (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) and published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

About the Author

Photo courtesy of Danielle Pesta

Danielle Pesta is the senior digital media manager at North Coast Media, the parent company of PMP magazine. She can be reached at dpesta@northcoastmedia.net.

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