#SciArtSeptember (Alternative list) Day 11: Venomous

I noticed a circular patch of dry dirt on a wet garden, so I guessed that a trapdoor spider could be there. And I was right.

Don't worry, I opened the hinged door with the utmost care, took photos and left her and her trap as I found them.

Not sure about the species: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenizidae

#spider #PhonePhotography #trapdoorSpider #nature #arachnids #valencia #SciArt

"The spider has been named #EuoplosDignitas, the former meaning a group of trapdoor spiders, and the latter meaning dignity or greatness which is a nod to the size of the spider and Project DIG."

‘It’s very big’: new species of giant #TrapdoorSpider discovered in Queensland | #Spiders #Australia | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/new-species-giant-trapdoor-spider-discovered-queensland?CMP=twt_gu&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium#Echobox=1679384396

#Scientists believe they have #discovered a #new #parasitic #fungus which #preys on trapdoor #spiders in #Brazil ’s Atlantic #rainforest .

The #rare #organism , which is purple, belongs to a group of #fungi that #infect #invertebrates & take over the host. A closeup image shows the fungus wrapped around the body of a #TrapdoorSpider , poking out of the burrow from which the #arachnid grabs insects.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/17/parasitic-fungus-that-infects-and-kills-spiders-discovered-in-brazil-aoe

#NewDiscovery #Science #Amazon #BreakingNews #SaveTheRainforest