New 'cave robber' spider found in Oregon
First new spider family found in North America since 1870
The Associated Press
Posted: Aug 17, 2012 4:57 PM ET
Last Updated: Aug 17, 2012 6:41 PM ET
This 2010 photo from a cave outside Grants Pass, Ore., shows a specimen of a new family of spiders, which scientists are calling Trogloraptor marchingtoni, or cave robber, for its fearsome claws. (Brent McGregor/Associated Press)
Amateur cave explorers have found a new family of spiders in southern Oregon that scientists have dubbed Trogloraptor, or cave robber, for its fearsome front claws.
The spelunkers sent specimens to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Entomologists there say the spider evolved so distinctly that it requires its own taxonomic family — the first new spider family from North America since 1870.
The species name, marchingtoni, honours Douglas County sheriff's Deputy Dave Marchington, who led scientists to the cave outside Grants Pass.
Academy entomologist Charles Griswold says the spider spins a crude web, but scientists don't know yet what or how it eats.
The discovery is described in the online edition of the journal ZooKeys.
© The Associated Press, 2012
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