Scientists had to create an entirely new spider genus after finding out that four new tarantula species had genitals that were long enough to fit into existing categories.
The team considers that men evolve this impressive appendage to be as far away as possible from aggressive women known to eat their partners during mating.
The genitals of male tarantulus are usually 1.5 to 2 times the length of the head and are combined with the chest. However, new research shows that new spider palms (a special appendage for transferring sperm during mating) are four times the length of their upper body, almost half the length of their longest legs.
You might like it
“These spider men have the longest palm of all known tarantulas,” he said in a study of the study of Alireza Zamani, arachnologist at the University of Torque in Finland. “Based on both morphological and molecular data, they are very distinct from the closest relatives, so we had to establish a whole new genera to classify them, and we named them Satyrex.”
The name Satyrex is a combination of the words “Satyr” and “Rex.” In Greek mythology, satyrs are the natural spirit of men with human upper body and goats and horse lower body, and “rex” is the Latin word for king. Satir is often portrayed as having very large genitals, according to the statement.
The new tarantulas live in a cool space with holes and between the rocks of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Zamani and his colleagues first encountered Satalex Arabicus in Saudi Arabia, filmed Satyrex Felox in Yemen and Oman, and filmed Satyrex Somalix and Satyrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex Syrex syrex speciosus in Somaliland. They published their findings in Zookeys magazine on July 22nd.
Related: I understand why tarantulas are shaggy.
Of the four new species, S. Ferox stands out as the biggest and fierce, so it’s the name. Both males and females have leg spans of approximately 5.5 inches (14 cm) and male palpation extends to 2 inches (5 cm) long, providing a safety buffer for cannibalized women, possibly during mating.
“We have tentatively suggested that long palms can help men maintain a safer distance during mating and avoid being attacked and devoured by highly aggressive women,” Zamani said.
This species is also very defensive. “A small obstacle, it raises the forefoot in a threatening position and creates a loud hissing sound by rubbing special hairs against each other by opposing each other,” Zamani explained.
Molecular and phylogenetic analyses in which scientists reconstruct the evolutionary history of species through genetics revealed that tarantulas, previously assigned to the Monocentropath genus, are in fact more closely related to the Satyrex spider. Researchers first described Yemen’s Monocentropath Longimanus in 1903, but the spider is now reclassified as Satyrex Longimanus.
“The much longer palpation of S. longimanus and the four newly described species was one of the main features that led them to establish new genera of these spiders rather than placing them in the monocentropath,” Zamani said. “Size seems really important, at least in tarantula taxonomy.”
Source link
